US warships fired 110 Tomahawk cruise missiles into Libya, targeting Qadhafi`s air defence sites, a senior US military official said.
Two days after a UN Security Council resolution authorised military action, French planes carried out an initial attack, destroying several armoured vehicles of Qadhafi`s forces, the French military said.
Libyan media said Western warplanes bombed civilian targets in Tripoli, causing casualties, shortly after France`s launch of the multinational air campaign against Qadhafi.
State television said hundreds of people had gathered at Bab al-Aziziyah, Qadhafi`s Tripoli headquarters, and at the capital`s international airport, ahead of the widely anticipated air strikes.
“Crowds are forming around the targets identified by France,” the television reported, showing pictures of flag-waving people gathering to serve as human shields.
Britain also said its forces were in action on Saturday, as Russia`s foreign ministry expressed regret over the armed intervention under UN Resolution 1973 “which was adopted in haste”.
According to France`s army chief, a first French air strike took place around 1645 GMT against “a Libyan vehicle clearly identified as belonging to pro-Qadhafi forces”.
Within the next hour, French Rafale and Mirage 2000 fighter jets conducted three other strikes, destroying armoured vehicles of the Libyan forces in the eastern region of Benghazi, the rebels` stronghold, the military said.
The operations are to continue through the night, the military said.
In the rebel camp, celebratory gunfire and honking of car horns broke out in Al-Marj, 100km from Benghazi, to welcome the start of military operations against Qadhafi, correspondents said.As thousands fled Benghazi amid an assault by Qadhafi loyalists earlier on Saturday, French President Nicolas Sarkozy told a summit of world leaders in Paris that his country`s fighters were poised to attack. But Sarkozy said Qadhafi could still avoid the worst if he complied with the Security Council resolution by implementing a ceasefire to allow the diplomatic door to reopen.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon, however, said he was troubled by a telephone call from the Libyan prime minister on Friday night. “He told me that the Libyan government was fully abiding by the Security Council resolution and there will be an immediate ceasefire,” said the secretary general.“But at the same time and overnight they were attacking Benghazi. It is very troubling; whatever they say must be verified.”
Since Friday, the Libyan government has insisted it was observing a self-declared ceasefire, shortly after the Security Council voted to authorise the use of force against Qadhafi`s troops to spare civilians.
The regime said its armed forces were under attack west of Benghazi, including by rebel aircraft, and had responded in self-defence.
On Saturday, Foreign Minister Mussa Kussa said Tripoli had met all its obligations under the UN resolution and asked Ban to send observers to monitor the ceasefire.
But the rebels, who have been trying to overthrow the Libyan leader for more than a month, said government troops had continued to bombard cities, violating the ceasefire continuously.UNITED NATIONS: The Security Council pressed Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders on Tuesday to speed up reunification talks and renewed the mandate of the UN force on the divided island for another six months. Fourteen of the council’s 15 members backed a resolution urging the two sides to take advantage of recent progress “by intensifying the momentum of negotiations, preserving the current atmosphere of trust and goodwill and engaging in the process in a constructive and open manner.” The lone vote against came from Turkey, with its ambassador Ertugrul Apakan objecting that some of the language in the text was formulated as if there were “only one side in the dispute.” The resolution, sponsored by Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States, also extended the mandate of the UN peacekeeping force (UNFICYP), which expires on Tuesday, until next December 15. UNFICYP has been patrolling the Mediterranean island’s ceasefire line since 1964. UN envoy Alexander Downer voiced hope early this month that the inter-communal talks could be concluded by year’s end. And UN chief Ban Ki-moon has warned Cypriot leaders that time is running out for a peace deal, but expressed confidence an agreement can be reached in coming months.
ISTANBUL: Iran will not agree to talks on its nuclear programme if the UN Security Council adopts fresh sanctions, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tuesday. "I have said that the US government and its allies are so mistaken that if they think they can brandish the stick of resolution and then sit down to talk with us, such a thing will not happen," the Iranian leader told a news conference here. "We will talk to everyone if there is respect and fairness but if someone wants to talk to us rudely and in a domineering manner the response is known already," he added. His warning came as the UN Security Council prepared to hold new closed-door consultations Tuesday on a fourth sanctions resolution against the Islamic Republic after its 15 members failed to reach a consensus on a meeting on Monday. The council's five council permanent members -- Britain, France, China, Russia and the United States -- are co-sponsoring the sanctions draft and are aiming to hold a vote later this week. Ahmadinejad, who is in Turkey for the summit of an Asian security grouping, urged Western powers not to dismiss a nuclear fuel swap deal brokered by Turkey and Brazil last month. The deal "was an opportunity for the US government and its allies...I hope they will put this to good use. Opportunities will not be repeated," he said. The United States and other world powers have given a cool reaction to the deal under which Iran agreed to ship 1,200 kilograms (2,640 pounds) of its low-enriched uranium to Turkey in return for high-enriched uranium fuel for a Tehran reactor.
SINGAPORE: The United States demanded North Korea pay a price for allegedly sinking a South Korean warship even as Washington and its Asian allies brace for possible “provocations” by the Pyongyang regime. In a show of solidarity, US, Japanese and South Korean defence chiefs met in Singapore to discuss punitive steps against North Korea as the UN Security Council prepares to take up the crisis triggered by the sinking of the Cheonan. US Defense Secretary Robert Gates told his counterparts that “it’s important we have a unified front to deter further provocations,” his press secretary, Geoff Morrell, told reporters. While condemning North Korea’s alleged torpedo attack, which left 46 South Korean sailors dead, Washington and Seoul have called for calm and avoided talk of a military response. But given the North’s volatile reputation, the United States and its allies have to be prepared for possible violence, Morrell said. “When you’re dealing with a regime as unpredictable as (North Korea), that’s always a concern,” he said. Tensions have soared on the peninsula since a multinational probe last month concluded a North Korean torpedo sank the Cheonan, triggering trade reprisals by South Korea and threats of war by the communist North. In a speech to the security conference in Singapore, Gates said the US administration was looking at “additional options” against the North, apart from UN diplomacy and planned military exercises with South Korea.
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