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By Anthony Capaccio and Helene Fouquet
(For more on the Middle East turmoil, see EXTRA and MET.)
March 19 (Bloomberg) -- Libya was pummeled today by more than 110 Tomahawk cruise missiles in the first phase of an assault by international forces intent on protecting civilians from attack by their leader Muammar Qaddafi and his loyalists.
French fighter jets hit a Libyan armored vehicle and then four tanks in the first volley of “Operation Odyssey Dawn,” an advance by a coalition of nations, including the U.S., U.K., France, Canada and Italy, to create a no-fly zone over the North African nation.
As many as 25 vessels, including the USS Mount Whitney command vessel, were coordinated to weaken Libya’s command-and- control capability, U.S. Vice Admiral William Gortley told reporters in Washington. Gortley said the events, which continued into the night in Libya, were the first in a “multiphase” operation meant to “shape the battle space in Libya.”
Gortley said more than 20 targets -- including four airfields in Tripoli and air-defense sites in the east -- were the focus of the first-day of attacks. He did not set a deadline for when the no-fly zone would be clear but he said that the success of the operation may take days to verify.
Gortley said the assault was supported by Western and Arab nations, while declining to name all involved. Other countries “will announce their own involvement,” he said. The attack began at 16:45 GMT and did not involve U.S. aircraft traveling overland, he said.
Libya Responds
Libya official Mohammed Al-Zewi told reporters in Tripoli that the attack was “barbaric aggression,” and civilians were injured and needed hospital care. Al-Zewi identified himself as chairman of the Libyan National Public Conference.
The coalition struck after European, U.S. and Arab officials gathered in Paris today to discuss the situation in Libya and continuing attacks by government forces on civilians. Even as they met, Qaddafi’s forces attacked the rebel stronghold of Benghazi in defiance of their pledge and international demands for a cease-fire, television stations reported.
Just before news about the deployment of coalition forces broke, French President Nicolas Sarkozy issued a warning to the Libyan regime. “Right now our planes are blocking air strikes on the city” of Benghazi, told reporters before the strike. “French planes are ready to act against armored vehicles that would be threatening unarmed civilians.”
U.S. Support
U.S. President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in coordinated statements from Brazil and Paris, also warned that the U.S. was ready to help with “the effective implementation” of a United Nations-authorized no-fly zone.
“This is not an outcome that the United States or any or our partners sought,” Obama said, after authorizing what he called “limited military action” in Libya. Obama added: “We cannot stand idly by when a tyrant tells his own people there will be no mercy.”
“America has unique capabilities, and we will bring them to bear to help our European and Canadian allies and Arab partners stop future violence against civilians,” Clinton said at a separate news conference in Paris.
The Libyan revolt is the bloodiest of popular uprisings in the Middle East this year that have toppled Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. There have also been anti-government demonstrations in Yemen, Bahrain, Jordan, Syria, Algeria, Iran, Iraq and Oman, calling for democracy and improved living standards.
“The time for action has come,” British Prime Minister David Cameron said before the attack. It is “vitally important action takes place, urgently.”
Unanimous Vote
The UN Security Council voted March 17 to ground Qaddafi’s air force and to grant military authority to the U.S. and its allies to protect civilians and population centers threatened by his forces.
The UN’s principal policy-making panel voted 10-0, with five abstentions, to adopt a resolution that establishes a no- fly zone over Libya, demands a cease-fire and allows “all necessary measures” to protect civilians “excluding a foreign occupation force of any form on any part of Libyan territory.”
Brazil, China, Germany, India and Russia abstained.
Libya’s crude oil exports may be halted for “many months” because of damage to facilities and international sanctions, the International Energy Agency said March 15. Crude oil for April delivery slipped 9 cents to $101.07 a barrel this week on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The conflict, which has left hundreds dead, has sent futures up about 23 percent from a year ago.
Al-Jazeera cited the head of the rebel council, Mustafa Abdel Jalil, as saying bombing raids took place in Benghazi, which has about 1 million people. There was no indication that Qaddafi followed through on his regime’s pledge to observe UN demands for a cease-fire, a State Department official said.
Arab Leaders
Arab officials attending the Paris summit included Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa, United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh, Morocco’s Foreign Minister Taieb Fassi Fihri and Qatar Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad Bin Jasim Al Thani, according to an e-mailed list of the participants.
Qaddafi must “immediately end the acts of violence carried out against civilians,” according to a joint statement issued just after the meeting in Paris.
‘Without Any Limits’
Before the attack, the U.K deployed Tornado and BAE Systems Plc Eurofighter Typhoon jets. Italy’s cabinet approved the use of as many as seven air bases for the operation. Italy is only providing bases, not aircraft, for the mission for the moment, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said. The NATO base in Naples would probably be the main center for coordinated international action, Berlusconi told reporters in Paris.
Libya has about 30 sites with surface-to-air (SAM) missiles, linked to 15 early-warning radar, that pose a “significant threat” to foreign warplanes over or near Libyan airspace, according to information provided by the Pentagon.
Libya has a limited air force, with about 80 percent of its aircraft “non-operational.” Libyan pilot training levels and air combat tactics “have remained far inferior to those of U.S. pilots and well-trained Middle Eastern pilots,” such as those from Egypt and Saudi Arabia, according to the Pentagon.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates postponed a trip to Russia, scheduled to begin today, to monitor developments in Libya from Washington, Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said.
CF-18 Jets
Canada will deploy six CF-18 fighter jets, Postmedia News reported, citing people not identified by name.
Norway will contribute as many as six F-16s and one Orion plane with crew of about 100 in five to 10 days, officials said. Denmark has sent six F-16s to the U.S. Naval Air Station at Sigonella in Sicily, several of which are likely to be in Libyan airspace Sunday, Danish news agency Ritzau and newspaper Jyllands-Posten said today.
Qatar plans to take part in the mission to protect Libyan civilians under the UN resolution, the state-run Qatar News Agency.
The U.S. sent as many as 1,200 Marines and two Navy vessels, including the amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge, to the Mediterranean Sea off the Libyan coast, Gates said March 1. The U.S. is also monitoring Libyan airspace.
--With assistance from Bill Varner in New York, Peter S. Green in New York, Lisa Lerer, Tony Capaccio and Nadeem Hamid in Washington, Inal Ersan in Dubai, Roxana Tiron in Paris and Mariam Fam and Ola Galal in Cairo. Editor: Mark Silva
To contact the reporters on this story: Helene Fouquet in Paris at hfouquet1@bloomberg.net; Leon Mangasarian in Berlin at lmangasarian@bloomberg.net;
To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Hertling at jhertling@bloomberg.net; Andrew J. Barden at barden@bloomberg.net
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