Gaddafi calls truce but rebels say raids still on
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TRIPOLI: Hours after the United Nations Security Council voted to authorize military action and a no-fly zone, Libya executed a remarkable about-face on Friday, saying it would call an "immediate ceasefire and the stoppage of all military operations" against rebels seeking the ouster of Muammar Gaddafi.
The announcement came from foreign minister Moussa Koussa after Western powers said they were preparing imminent airstrikes to prevent Libyan forces from launching a threatened final assault on the rebels' eastern stronghold in Benghazi.
A Libyan rebel spokesman dismissed the ceasefire announcement, claiming Gaddafi's forces are still attacking key cities in the east and the west. Mustafa Gheriani, a spokesman for the rebels, said the attacks continued well past the announcement.
It was unclear what effect a ceasefire, if honoured, might have, but the offer drew some skepticism in the West. Prime Minister David Cameron told the BBC: "We will judge him (Gaddafi) by his actions, not his words."
Cameron told the House of Commons that the British Air Force would deploy Tornado jets and Eurofighter Typhoon warplanes, "as well as air-to-air refueling and surveillance aircraft."
"Preparations to deploy these have already started, and in the coming hours they will move to airbases from where they can take the necessary action," Cameron said. France reacted cautiously to the Libyan announcement . Colonel Gaddafi "begins to be afraid, but on the ground, the threat hasn't changed," the French foreign ministry spokesman, Bernard Valero, said. "We have to be very cautious."
Earlier, François Baroin, a French government spokesman, told RTL radio that airstrikes would come "rapidly," perhaps within hours, after the United Nations resolution late on Thursday authorized "all necessary measures" to impose a no-fly zone. But he insisted the military action was "not an occupation of Libyan territory." Rather, it was designed to protect the Libyan people and "allow them to go all the way in their drive, which means bringing down the Gaddafi regime."
Other French officials said that Baroin was speaking to heighten the warning to Gaddafi, and that any military action was not that imminent, but was still being coordinated with allies like UK and the US. President Nicolas Sarkozy of France and Cameron will attend a meeting in Paris on Saturday with European, EU, African Union and Arab League officials to discuss Libya.
(With inputs from Agencies)
The announcement came from foreign minister Moussa Koussa after Western powers said they were preparing imminent airstrikes to prevent Libyan forces from launching a threatened final assault on the rebels' eastern stronghold in Benghazi.
A Libyan rebel spokesman dismissed the ceasefire announcement, claiming Gaddafi's forces are still attacking key cities in the east and the west. Mustafa Gheriani, a spokesman for the rebels, said the attacks continued well past the announcement.
It was unclear what effect a ceasefire, if honoured, might have, but the offer drew some skepticism in the West. Prime Minister David Cameron told the BBC: "We will judge him (Gaddafi) by his actions, not his words."
Cameron told the House of Commons that the British Air Force would deploy Tornado jets and Eurofighter Typhoon warplanes, "as well as air-to-air refueling and surveillance aircraft."
"Preparations to deploy these have already started, and in the coming hours they will move to airbases from where they can take the necessary action," Cameron said. France reacted cautiously to the Libyan announcement . Colonel Gaddafi "begins to be afraid, but on the ground, the threat hasn't changed," the French foreign ministry spokesman, Bernard Valero, said. "We have to be very cautious."
Earlier, François Baroin, a French government spokesman, told RTL radio that airstrikes would come "rapidly," perhaps within hours, after the United Nations resolution late on Thursday authorized "all necessary measures" to impose a no-fly zone. But he insisted the military action was "not an occupation of Libyan territory." Rather, it was designed to protect the Libyan people and "allow them to go all the way in their drive, which means bringing down the Gaddafi regime."
Other French officials said that Baroin was speaking to heighten the warning to Gaddafi, and that any military action was not that imminent, but was still being coordinated with allies like UK and the US. President Nicolas Sarkozy of France and Cameron will attend a meeting in Paris on Saturday with European, EU, African Union and Arab League officials to discuss Libya.
(With inputs from Agencies)
(source:timesofindia.indiatimes.com)
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