TRIPOLI, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Multinational forces enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya vowed Thursday to keep up their airstrikes against Libyan government forces, with more means and more countries involved. French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said Thursday the coalition operation would continue for a "necessary" period, "days or weeks", but "certainly not months", to prevent Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's forces from attacking rebels. The targets were purely military, he said. Juppe said on Wednesday the coalition intervention in Libya wouldn't last long and the countries involved would have political meetings to steer and coordinate the next phase of the operation. The political steering committee, proposed by France, will convene its first meeting in London next Tuesday to review the progress in implementing the UN Security Council resolution authorizing the military action. The French military said on Thursday French fighter jets pounded an air base in Libya's inland overnight Wednesday, while other coalition warplanes attacked tanks and some helicopters on the ground. Coalition warships Thursday continued to patrol the coast of Libya to prevent arms and mercenaries from entering Libya after they began the operation on Wednesday. The British Defense Ministry said Thursday a Royal Navy submarine fired Tomahawk missiles on Libyan air defense targets late Wednesday and early Thursday as part of Britain's contribution. The Danish Air Force's Tactical Air Command said Wednesday its F-16 fighter jets had, for the first time, dropped precision-guided bombs on targets in Libya. Denmark has deployed six F-16 fighters at the Naval Air Station Sigonella in Sicily, Italy, as part of the UN-mandated multinational forces to establish a no-fly zone over Libya. The command said the six F-16s had carried out at least 12 missions since Sunday, including 11 air-to-ground and one air-to-air missions. German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday called for extensive sanctions against Libya and defended Germany's abstention on the UN vote approving the military action. Merkel told the German parliament she hoped the countries involved could reach agreement on a complete oil embargo and extensive trade sanctions against Libya, but added the effects of the military actions were "still disturbing" and Germany hoped to have quick and sustainable solutions for reaching U.N. goals. German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle Tuesday urged the European Union to approve a full-scale oil and gas embargo to cut off Gaddafi's money sources. The fighting between forces loyal to Gaddafi and rebels continued on Thursday near the western city of Misurata and the eastern city of Ajdabiya, where they have been at a stalemate. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday urged Gaddafi to leave power, saying: "The quickest way for him to end this is to actually serve the Libyan people by leaving." According to the U.S. Department of Defense, multinational forces have flown at least 336 sorties over Libya and launched at least 108 air strikes since the start of the campaign on Saturday. Reports said that no Libyan planes had taken off in recent days and multinational forces have been targeting Gaddafi's ground forces to further clamp down on him. On Wednesday night, several targets in the Tajoura district in Tripoli's east were attacked by three rounds of bombing, and a military engineering institute was hit and caught fire. Several cars parked nearby or passing were also struck by the bombing and people inside were injured. Meanwhile, Libyan media reported on Wednesday that "a large number" of civilians had been killed in eastern Tripoli by Western airstrikes. The Canadian military has said that Canadian warplanes conducted their first attack in Libya Tuesday night. Canadian F-18 Hornet fighter jets, supported by two C-150 air-to-air refueling aircraft, bombed an ammunition depot in northern Libya. Before that, Canadian planes had been solely escorting other nations' planes. Canada has so far deployed a total of six F-18s at a base in Trapani, Italy. The UN Security Council on March 17 adopted Resolution 1973 to authorize a no-fly zone over Libya and called for "all necessary measures", excluding ground troops, to protect civilians under threat of attack in the North African country.
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Saturday, March 26, 2011
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