No-Fly Zone in Place to Protect Civilians in Libya

Submitted by ginetadmin on Mon, 03/21/2011 - 11:52am

On Saturday, in response to continued attacks by pro-Qaddafi forces, the international community began military action toward the goal of implementing a no-fly zone over Libyan airspace. The initial phase required targeting anti-aircraft defenses. As part of the effort, British and American forces launched 124 Tomahawk missiles at twenty air- defense targets. Further action was aimed at tanks and armored personnel carriers as well as elements of Qaddafi’s command and control structure.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen

On Sunday it was announced that a no-fly zone was in effect. Appearing on ABC News, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen said:

The no-fly zone has essentially started to have its effects. We are flying over Benghazi right now. [Qaddafi] hasn’t had any planes in the air the last two days.

While the United States has played a key role thus far, France and Britain have been leading the effort. Additional members of the international community currently taking action include Spain, Belgium, Denmark, and Qatar. It is expected that as the mission continues the United States will move to a more limited role and other countries will step in to fill the gap.

Arab League Controversy

Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa

The Libya mission has not been without controversy. Despite having called on the United Nations to authorize a no-fly zone, the Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa made statements condemning the international community for implementation. In doing so, Moussa cited concern over reports being issued by the Qaddafi regime that civilians had been killed by missile strikes. However, by Monday, Moussa had backtracked and reiterated Arab League support for United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973. France has said that it has no evidence any civilians have been killed in the air strikes, but there have been assertions that Qaddafi is using civilians as shields to protect key military targets.

Interactive Map of Fighting

Rebels have said more than 8,000 have been killed in the fighting, which began on February 15. However, the number of casualties cannot be independently confirmed at this time. For more information, check out an interactive map from the New York Times with a day-by-day breakdown of fighting in Libya.