Comments
Noting that the Libyan government troops are disregarding a UN ceasefire order, the Secretary-General, Mr Ban Ki-moon, warned of further action if Mr Muammar Gaddafi dose not halt the violence.
Mr Ban said that his special envoy to Libya, former Jordanian foreign minister Mr Abdelilah Al-Khatib, told the Libyan regime that the Security Council may be prepared to take additional measures.
In his update, Mr Ban told the Security Council that despite assurances by the Libyan Government, a ceasefire did not appear to be in place.
“To the contrary, fierce battles have continued in or around the cities of Ajdabiya, Misratah and Zitan, among others,” he said, adding that there is no evidence of Libyan authorities carrying out their obligations under either resolution.
He said that 335,658 people have left Libya since the beginning of the crisis and up to 250,000 people could still be expected to flee.
“We have serious concerns, however, about the protection of civilians, abuses of human rights and violations of international humanitarian law, and the access of civilian populations to basic commodities and services in areas currently under siege,” he said.
After speaking to the Council, the Secretary-General also told journalists that there is an urgent need for humanitarian access, but Libyan authorities have not permitted a need-assessment team in the country.
He also reiterated that the objective of the UN was to protect civilians and not regime change.
“Because Colonel Gaddafi has been killing his own person, that is why the Security Council has adopted that resolution,” he said.
On February 26, the Security Council slapped sanctions on the Libyan regime including an arms embargo, an asset freeze and travel ban on Mr Gaddafi and his loyalists, and a referral to the Hague-based International Criminal Court.
Last week, the Security Council called for an immediate ceasefire, establishing a no-fly zone and authorised “all necessary measures” for protecting the civilians in Libya from Col Muammar Gaddafi’s forces.
India, China, Russia, Brazil and Germany abstained from voting on the resolution, which was co-authored by Britain and France.
On Thursday, the US said that it is handing over the command and control of the no-fly zone over Libya to NATO. So far, the operations were being carried by the US-led coalition including Britain and France.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.