SIGNS OF rifts within Nato over the conduct of its operations in Libya remained yesterday as fighting between forces loyal to Muammar Gadafy and the opposition continued.
In Berlin, a Nato meeting on the Libyan crisis ended without a commitment to deploy more strike planes, despite France and Britain pushing to expand the air campaign.
Nato forces have been enforcing the UN resolution approved last month which authorised a no-fly zone and the protection of civilians in Libya, following Gadafy’s brutal response to an uprising that grew out of anti-regime protests there two months ago.
The UN resolution makes no mention of regime change, but the rhetoric from some Nato allies, particularly Britain and France, has grown increasingly bullish on this point in recent days.
In an open letter published yesterday, US president Barack Obama, British prime minister David Cameron and French president Nicolas Sarkozy, argued there could be no peace while the Libyan leader stayed in power.
To allow him remain in situ would “betray” the Libyan people, they said in the letter published in several newspapers.
In a later interview, Mr Obama conceded that the situation on the ground in Libya had sunk into stalemate, but he argued that the US and Nato had prevented a “wholesale slaughter” and that Gadafy is under increasing pressure to step aside.
Mr Obama said the Libyan leader was “getting squeezed in all different kinds of ways” and he added that he was confident he would ultimately be forced to relinquish power.
French defence minister Gerard Longuet went as far as to suggest a new UN resolution would be required for Nato allies to achieve their goals in Libya. Speaking on French radio, Mr Longuet acknowledged that regime change would “certainly” be beyond the scope of the existing UN resolution 1973, and would require a new security council vote.
“Beyond resolution 1973, certainly it didn’t mention the future of Gadafy but I think that three major countries saying the same thing is important to the United Nations and perhaps one day the security council will adopt a resolution,” he said.
At the Berlin meeting, Nato secretary general Anders Fogh Rasmussen warned that the threat to Libyan civilians would not disappear while Gadafy was still in power, but he reiterated that Nato was strictly adhering to the UN mandate to protect civilians.
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, however, said Nato was exceeding its UN mandate, and urged an immediate change in policy. “We believe it is important to urgently transfer things into the political course and proceed with a political and diplomatic settlement,” Mr Lavrov said.
Russia, along with Brazil, India and China, abstained from voting on the UN resolution which established the no-fly zone last month.
Meanwhile, a representative of the Libyan opposition’s Transitional National Council is expected to visit Ireland next week to meet officials.
Members of the Libyan community in Ireland are due to hold a rally in front of the GPO in Dublin this afternoon in solidarity with their compatriots battling to oust Gadafy.