Obama Defends US Libya Involvement

Washington, US

US President Barack Obama has defended his decision of authorisation of military operation in Libya as an intervention to stop brutal repression and a massacre of civilians by forces loyal to embattled leader Col Muammar Gaddafi.

Speaking at the National Defense University in Washington on Monday night, Obama said the US must act where its interests and values are threatened. He said the US participation in the coalition forces had saved countless lives and a looming humanitarian crisis.

Obama faces much criticism from both his Democratic and Republican parties over US involvement in the Libyan operation which many have termed as a wider political objective of regime change in Libya that does not match the stated objectives of the intervention.

In response to the criticism Obama said he had ordered military intervention to enforce the UN resolution because if the coalition had waited one more day, there would have been a massacre in the Benghazi that would have stained the conscience of the world and cripple the credibility of the UN.

Obama dismissed claims of seeking a regime change in Libya through military means but said the US and other coalition nations will continue to campaign for Col Gaddafi’s step down from power. He said that the progress made so far is significant for the use of America’s military power and broader leadership.

In a statement by the White House of a video conference earlier on Monday with the UK Prime Minister David Cameron, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Obama settled that Col Gaddafi had lost legitimacy and should step down from power to enable Libyan people to have political space to determine their own future.

The US is expected to hand over command of enforcement of a no-fly zone on the Libyan airspace to NATO on Wednesday after the military alliance agreed to take up the UN resolution. Obama said that the transition to NATO will significantly reduce the risk and cost of the operation to the American military and taxpayers.

The US agreed to lead enforcement of the UN Security Council resolution that declared a no-fly zone and also authorised use of all necessary means by member states to protect Libyan civilians under threats of attack

Col Gaddafi has written to a delegate of 40 members from the coalition forces, the UN, NATO, the African Union and Arab league expected to hold talks on Libya in London on Tuesday, calling for an end of the “barbaric offensive” on his country.

Libyan opposition forces have advanced westwards from their stronghold in Benghazi, as government forces are resisting their advance towards Col Gaddafi’s hometown of Sitre. The rebels have taken advantage of the UN-backed military campaign and have advanced through coastal towns and important oil installations abandoned by government forces in east of Sitre.

Pentagon spokesman Vice Admiral Bill Gortney said that Libyan rebels who were poorly armed were not well organized and any military gains would be tenuous.

NATO which assumed full control of the air operation on Sunday declared that it is neutral and its mandate was only to prevent violence against civilians.

On Monday British tornado aircraft attacked and destroyed Libyan government ammunition bunker in Sabha area. The ammunition bunker is believed to be used to re-supply Libyan government troops attacking civilians in northern Libya.

Around 336,000 people have fled Libya since the beginning of the crisis, he said, adding that the UN had contingency plans to deal with as many as 250,000 new refugees.

Over 336,000 mostly immigrant workers have fled the country to neighbouring states since the beginning of the uprising that started as peaceful demonstrations seeking an end to Gaddafi’s 42-year rule.

Abidjan, Ivory Coast

Government Troops clash with Pro-Ouattara Forces near Liberian Border

Forces loyal to Ivory Coast’s president-elect Alassane Ouattara clashed on Monday with troops loyal to incumbent president Laurent Gbagbo over control of strategic town in the west of the country near its border with Liberia.

The Republican Forces of Côte d'Ivoire (FRCI) troops allied to Ouattara claimed control of Duekoue town, an important cocoa producing and transport town linking Liberia and Guinea. Pro-Ouattara rebels first attacked the town last month as they continue to push farther south along the Liberian border into areas that have been under control of the Gbagbo government since the 2002-3 civil war.

Spokesman of the pro-Ouattara forces Lacine Mara said that the Duekoue town had been under their control since 0700 GMT which also Gbagbo’s fighters claimed they controlled parts of it. 

UN peacekeeping mission in Ivory Coast said that many residents from the town are camping at its premises in seek of protection from the fighters. The UN Human Rights Council is expected to send an international commission of inquiry to the country to investigate allegations of rights abuses since the post-poll chaos broke out.

Heavy fighting was also reported in the capital, Abidjan where heavy mortar fire and machine guns were witnessed in areas controlled by pro-Ouattara fighters who are pushing towards the city centre.  Government troops have been accused of firing shells at areas under control of Ouattara’s forces, causing widespread of civilian casualties.

The spokesman for Gbagbo’s government Ahoua Don has condemned the move by the European Union and the rest of the international community for increasing sanctions on the country, which he described as punishing the victims of violence by the rebels.

He said the international community had refused to impose sanctions on the rebels who have been committing atrocities by killing unarmed civilians. He also said the international community had erred by declining to listen to Gbagbo’s proposal of the ending the political crisis.

Nearly 500 people are reported to have died and about a million displaced since the violence broke out in last November over disputed presidential polls.

Gbagbo who is believed to have lost the election has refused to relinquish power and allow the internationally recognised winner of the election, Ouattara to assume office.