Sweden joins participation in enforcing no-fly-zone over Libya

Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt

Sweden has joined NATO in helping enforcing the no-fly-zone over Libya.  Last week the Swedish parliament, the Riksdag, voted overwhelmingly in favour of Sweden sending JAS Gripen fighter aircraft to Libya to monitor a UN-backed no-fly zone.

The parliament voted through the proposal by a resounding 240 to 18, with five abstentions.

“Sometimes the risk of intervening is less than the risk of not doing so,” said foreign minister Carl Bildt in reference to concerns that the intervention could, in a worse case scenario, harm civilians.

Bildt underlined that Libya and north African countries are neighbors to the EU and what is currently happening there is having a very real impact in the form of refugees arriving in boats on European islands in the Mediterranean.

Bildt called for European solidarity to help EU partners aid the refugees fleeing war.

“Lampedusa is a part of the EU, just like Ven, Sicily and Crete, and as much as Öland and Gotland,” he said.

The vote clears the way for the Swedish air force’s first international deployment in 48 years.

Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt said Tuesday he would put to parliament the proposal of sending eight Swedish-built fighter jets, a transport plane and a reconnaissance plane to Libya, stressing Swedish jets would not be involved in ground strikes.

Sweden’s participation in the mission had received broad political support and the proposal was widely expected to pass.

Swedish Parliament, the Riksdag.

The only parliamentary group opposing the measure was the Sweden Democrats.

The party’s spokesperson Mikael Jansson warned against Swedish involvement ahead of Friday’s vote.

“What right to we have to take sides in a civil war through a one-sided bombardment,” he said predicting a long period of fighting and raised the prospect of clan warfare following a defeat for Muammar Qaddafi.

The Social Democrat foreign policy spokesperson Urban Ahlin meanwhile argued that the decision to support the mission sanctioned by the UN Security Council was an easy one.

“We respond when the UN calls for the protection of civilians, this is a Swedish tradition,” he said.

The Nordic country is not a member of NATO, although it has been in NATO’sPartnership for Peace programme since 1994 and participates in the alliance’sInternational Security Assistance Force (ISAF) force in Afghanistan with some500 troops.

This week all eight Swedish JAS Gripen fighters landed at Italy’s NATO military base in Siciliy and are now under NATO command. Sweden’s role will be limited to enforcing the no-fly zone over Libya and will not involve any ground strikes as demanded by the left-wing opposition.

The Saab JAS 39 Gripen (Griffin) is a lightweight single engine multirole fighter aircraft manufactured by the Swedish aerospace company Saab. Gripen International acts as a prime contracting organisation and is responsible for marketing, selling and supporting the Gripen fighter around the world. The aircraft is in service with the Swedish Air Force, the Czech Air Force, the Hungarian Air Force and the South African Air Force, and has been ordered by the Royal Thai Air Force.

The mission involving some 130 support troops will fly under NATO command and last three months at most.  Sweden would also provide “reconnaissance means” in a form to be decided.

Sweden is not a member of NATO, although it has been in NATO’s Partnership for Peace programme since 1994 and has contributed some 500 troops to the alliance’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) force in Afghanistan.

Sweden also took part in operations in Kosovo. Nevertheless Sweden’s air force has not been involved in action since it took part in a UN-mandated operation in the then Belgian Congo from 1961-63.

The Libyan operation will be the first combat tour for the JAS Gripen 39, produced by the Swedish defence group Saab.

Sweden’s Nordic neighbours Denmark and Norway are already taking part in Libyan air operations.

U.S. sends C.I.A to Libya to gather intelligence, vet rebels under secretly authorized order from President Obama

A Libyan rebel fires in air as others wave Libyan pre-Gadhafi flags as they ride a vehicle at twilight in Benghazi, Libya.

The Obama administration has sent teams of CIA operatives into Libya in a rush to gather intelligence on the identities and capabilities of rebel forces opposed to Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi, and assessing “all types of assistance” for the rebels according to U.S. officials.

While the White House debates whether to arm rebels battling Moammar Gadhafi’s troops, U.S. officials have acknowledged that the CIA has sent small teams of operatives into Libya and helped rescue a crew member of a U.S. fighter jet that crashed.

Battlefield setbacks are hardening the U.S. view that the poorly equipped opposition probably is incapable of prevailing without decisive Western intervention, a senior U.S. intelligence official told The Associated Press.

Still, White House press secretary Jay Carney said Wednesday: “No decision has been made about providing arms to the opposition or to any groups in Libya. We’re not ruling it out or ruling it in.”

The CIA’s precise role in Libya is not clear. Intelligence experts said the CIA would have sent officials to make contact with the opposition and assess the strength and needs of the rebel forces in the event President Barack Obama decided to arm them.

An American official and a former U.S. intelligence officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information, told the AP about the CIA’s involvement in Libya after the agency was forced to close its station in Tripoli, the capital.

They said CIA helped safely recover the F-15E Strike Eagle’s weapons specialist, who was first picked up by rebels after the crash March 21. The pilot was rescued by Marines.

The former intelligence officer said some CIA officers had been staging from the agency’s station in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates.

The New York Times first reported the CIA had sent in groups of operatives and British operatives were directing airstrikes.

Obama said in a national address Monday night that U.S. troops would not be used on the ground in Libya. The statement allowed for wiggle room as the president explores options in case he decides to use covert action to ship arms to the rebels and train them.

In that event, the CIA would take the lead, as it has done in the past such as in Afghanistan after the Sept. 11 attacks and the run-up to the Iraq invasion in 2003. In those covert action programs, CIA officers along with special operation forces were sent in, providing arms to opposition forces to help fight the Taliban in Afghanistan and Saddam Hussein in Iraq.

The CIA’s efforts represent a belated attempt to acquire basic information about rebel forces that had barely surfaced on the radar of U.S. spy agencies before the uprisings in North Africa.

Resistance: Hundreds of resurgent Libyan rebels gather near Nofilia, 62 miles from Sirte yesterday as Gaddafi forces pushed them back further east.

Among the CIA’s tasks is to assess whether rebel leaders could be reliable partners if the administration opts to begin funneling in money or arms.

Obama took a key step in that direction by issuing a secret authorization known as a presidential “finding,” designed to pave the way for the flow of money or weapons. News of the finding, signed several weeks ago, was first reported Wednesday by Reuters.

Under law, the CIA requires special permission from the president to carry out activities designed to influence foreign events. A finding establishes a framework of legal authorities for specific covert activities, and in some cases for future actions that can be taken only after specific permission is given.

Such operations are fraught with risks. The CIA’s history is replete with efforts that backfired against U.S. interests in unexpected ways. In perhaps the most fateful example, the CIA’s backing of Islamic fighters in Afghanistan succeeded in driving out the Soviets in the 1980s, but it also presaged the emergence of militant groups, including al-Qaeda, that the United States is now struggling to contain.

Giving the CIA an expanded role in Libya would enable the administration to bridge the gap between the restrictions on coalition airstrikes and Obama’s stated goal of bringing Gaddafi’s four-decade rule to an end.

The CIA’s Special Activities Division includes paramilitary operatives who could help guide rebel operations as well as allied airstrikes.

Even amid an escalating campaign of coalition airstrikes, opposition forces have repeatedly mounted ill-advised assaults on Gaddafi positions and have been forced to retreat from territory they had gained.  Seems like more help is on the way for the rebels.

France takes leading role in action against Libya

A French Rafale fighter plane taking off from a military base in Saint-Dizier, France, March 19. The jets head for Libya to enforce a no-fly zone and protect civilians and embattled rebel troops. Eyewitnesses report that fighter jets had already entered Libyan airspace while a special summit on the topic was still in session in Paris. French presdident Sarkozy announced that attacks on the pro-Gaddafi forces have been launched after World leaders gathered in Paris on Saturday to discuss the course of action regarding Libya after the UN Security Council passed resolution 1973 that demands the immediate establishment of a cease-fire and a complete end to violence and all attacks against civilians.

France has taken a robust and assertive role in the action against Libya.  The military action against Libya given approval by U.N. Security Council resolution 1973 began, allowed the coalition to what whatever possible in defense of the civilians in Libya.  French President Sarkozy said, “If we intervene on the side of the Arab nations it is because of a universal conscience that cannot tolerate such crimes.”  The one question that many raised was why the French government took the lead?

This is mainly due to a few factors with French domestic politics and France’s history, interests in Africa. First on the domestic front.  With his popularity at a record low and facing a presidential election next year, Nicolas Sarkozy is in desperate need of a boost to his political stature both at home and abroad.

With polls showing that Sarkozy is the least popular president since the founding of the Fifth Republic in 1958, he is betting that French voters will appreciate his efforts in Libya to place France at the center of the world stage and reinforce what Charles de Gaulle once famously called “a certain idea of France” as a nation of exceptional destiny.

In any case, Sarkozy’s main rival is not Gaddafi, but rather Marine Le Pen, the charismatic new leader of the far-right National Front party in France. A new opinion poll published by the Le Parisien newspaper on March 8 has Le Pen, who took over from her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, in January, winning the first round of next year’s presidential election.

Le Pen, who appeals to middle class voters, is riding high on voter dissatisfaction over the failure of the mainstream parties to address the problem of Muslim immigration. Since taking her post three months ago, Le Pen has single-handedly catapulted the twin issues of Muslim immigration and French national identity to the top of the French political agenda, and in recent weeks, Le Pen has been a permanent fixture on French prime-time television to discuss the threat to France of a wave of immigrants from Libya.

The crisis in Libya provided that unique opportunity to get rid of the image of a sinking reactive presidency. On taking action in Libya, he said that France had “decided to assume its role before history” in stopping Gaddafi’s “killing spree” against people whose only crime was to seek to “liberate themselves from servitude”.  “Libyans wanting nothing else but the right to decide their own future find themselves in danger of death. We have a duty to respond to their anguished call,” he said.

When he summoned world leaders to an emergency war council at the Elysée Palace to agree on military action against Muammar Gaddafi last week, his 20 guests had barely come to an agreement when Sarkozy announced French planes were in the air – and had been for some hours – preparing to strike Libyan targets.  President Sarkozy taking charge was also in sharp contrast to his predecessor Jacques Chirac who was in opposition to the UN resolution on military action in Iraq, and joining along with the United States in going to war, were as Sarkozy lead in the effort to military action against Libya through the United Nations.

Prior to sending in the French air force to enforce the no-fly-zone, France became the first and only nation to recognize the rebels as the “legitimate representatives” of the Libyan people. Critics and cynics rightly pointed out that Sarkozy was desperate to atone for France’s incompetent handling of the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt. This was in effort to erase in peoples minds the image of when he welcomed Gaddafi with open arms three years ago, with a red carpet and bringing half the capital to a standstill and allowing the Libyan leader to pitch his bedouin tent near the Elysée.

Across North and West Africa, France has long coveted its ties with its former colonies in Africa as its influence waned elsewhere, clinging to them as a sign of prestige and as part of the Gaullist doctrine that dominated French foreign policy for the latter half of the 20th century. At the beginning of the 21st century, France is finding that its position as patron to Third World countries is becoming untenable due to the increasingly unacceptable political, economic and security-related situations in many of these countries.  It is becoming clear day by day that France will need Africa more than Africa will need France in the future.

France’s consistent offers of military and economic support to the embattled leaders of these countries may now be withdrawn as Sarkozy tightens France’s sphere of influence. He is now focusing on the area around the Mediterranean where France’s core interests lie, including the former colonies of Lebanon and Algeria, where much of France’s non-European population hails from and where France’s colonial ties run deepest.

Gradually over the years, Paris has been reducing its presence in Africa in the political, military and humanitarian spheres. Defence contracts and their secret clauses have been progressively renegotiated. The African continent is also no longer dependent on French funding, once a main source of influence. It now receives significant sums from the European Union, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, while China has become Africa’s biggest trading partner.

For all of France’s recent attempts to disengage itself from its African past, the roots of its relationships still run deep. Franceafrique is changing – but that’s down to emerging domestic middle-classes and civil society demanding increasing openness from their leaders, certainly not because of France.

Video report sheds more light on French influence in Africa and what Africans think.

The French military prepares for and launches their first Libyan operation in which an an AWACS reconnaissance plane and four attack aircraft took off for Libya.

Threatened by Le Pen’s rising popularity, and in urgent need of a political boost, Sarkozy is now using the Libya intervention both to play the role of the respected statesman on the international stage and to address French concerns over mass immigration from North Africa.

Make up of Libya’s armed forces

Libyan armed forces prior to current military conflict.

Video of missiles raining down on Libya

The night sky over the Mediterranean coast of Libya lit up on Saturday night as operation Odyssey Dawn got into gear. 110 cruise missiles were fired as part of the military response from the USA, Britain and other European nations.

Arab League and Gulf States call for a no-fly zone over Libya

The Arab League endorsed on Saturday the imposition of a no-fly zone over Libya and recognized the fledgling rebel movement seeking to topple Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi as the country’s legitimate government, increasing pressure on Western powers to intervene in what increasingly resembles a civil war.

The move represents an extraordinary step by the leading Arab organization, historically reluctant to sanction a member, and provided fresh evidence of the reformist spirit recasting long-stagnating Arab politics. It was also a risky step for a number of Arab leaders facing domestic dissent of their own.

Oman Foreign Minister Youssef bin Alawi bin Abdullah

This came after comments bythe foreign minister of Oman Youssef bin Alawi bin Abdullah when he said:

Arab states must intervene in Libya through the Arab League and in line with international law and the Libyan crisis poses a threat to the stability of Arab states. What is needed now is Arab intervention using mechanisms of the Arab League and at the same time in accordance with international law.

The U.S. welcomed the endorcement of a no-fly-zone over Libya by Arab leaders and Arab league.

The United States on Saturday backed the Arab League’s call for the United Nations Security Council to impose a no-fly zone over Libya, and Washington said it was preparing for “all contingencies.”

“We welcome this important step by the Arab League, which strengthens the
international pressure on Gaddafi and support for the Libyan people,” the White House said in a statement.

Over at the Dubai-based Institute for Near East & Gulf Military Analysis (INEGMA), they have called for an Arab lead no-fly-zone over Libya.

Many countries around the world have called for establishing a no-fly zone (NFZ) to protect the Libyan rebels and civilians.  Also many Arab countries, especially members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have called for an NFZ over Libya, and so did the National Transition Council formed by the Libyan rebels to run the country’s affairs until a new government replaces Gadhafi’s. However, the United States and European countries have sent mixed signals on the NFZ, which drew criticism from many circles in Middle East and West.

Some Arab defense experts believe it is time for the Arab States to stand up and take responsibilities in their own hands and come to the aid of the Libyans.  Retired Major General Khaled Al-Bu Ainnain, former commander of the United Arab Emirates Air Force and Air Defense, believes that some GCC states and Egypt can mount a joint operation and successfully enforce an NFZ over Libya. “The UAE Air Force can deploy couple of squadrons – one F-16 Block 60 and another Mirage 2000-9 – the Saudi Air Force can deploy a couple of F-15S squadrons and Egypt a couple of F-16 squadrons out of Mersi Matrouh Air Base in western Egypt,” Al-Bu Ainnain said. “This would provide 120 fighters and attack aircrafts that would be backed with airborne early warning planes like Egyptian E-2C Hawkeye or Saudi AWACS, some unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) for reconnaissance, and air-refueling tankers from Saudi Arabia and couple of Egyptian or UAE helicopter squadrons comp osed of Apache Longbow gunships, Blackhawks and Chinook helicopters, for search and rescue missions.” Crews and troops needed for the operation could be quickly airlifted to western Egypt, and even Algeria, within hours using a large fleet of UAE and Egyptian C-130 and Qatari C-17 transporters.

Observers believe the area of operations for any force executing an NFZ over Libya now would be confined to the area between the capital Tripoli and the City of Cert and down south to Sebha in the center.  The rest of the country is under rebel control. The Libyan Air Force is comprised of aging Cold War-era Soviet supplied fighters like Su-22, MiG-21 and MiG-23 and one remaining operational Mirage F-1 and some 30 MiMi-24 Helicopter gunships.  According to reports out of Libya, only few Su-22 and MiG-23 aircrafts were seen involved in the air raids in addition to MiMi-24 gunships. As for Air Defense, Gadhafi’s forces are believed to be in possession of a few batteries of Soviet-era SAM-2, SAM-3 and SAM-6 surface to air missiles. “All of the Libyan Air Defense SAM’s and radars can be taken out swiftly by the arsenal of smart weapons and cruise missiles in possession today by GCC and Egyptian Air Forces,” Al-Bu Ainnain said. “Runways can be destroyed with bunker-busters to ground all the jets, and the gunships can be easily destroyed on the ground.”  He pointed out that GCC and Egyptian Air Forces have considerably enhanced their joint-operations capabilities as a result of almost annual exercises they have done together along with the U.S. and some EU countries. “Issues related to command and control and interoperability would be resolved quickly which would ensure a smooth running of NFZ operations.”

Many analysts believe Libyan rebels and the Arab street would be more welcoming of a joint Arab force enforcing NFZ than a Western one.  Even Arab street reaction to an operation led by Arab countries would reflect favorably on the concerned governments, and reduce mounting frustration amongst Arabs of seeing their governments weak and indecisive in resolving Arab problems. GCC officials have indicated in their recent statements that a request by the Arab League would be enough to give legitimacy to a NFZ in Libya.  Arab troops would be able to operate more easily and effective on the ground in Libya than Westerners due to issues related to language, culture and geography.  Most analysts agree an Arab joint force would have more success than a Western one in Libya, provided the joint force gets the needed political commitment regionally and internationally.

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states have been loading up on the world’s most advanced weapons even through the 2008 global financial crisis. The arms buying spree hit well over $123 billion last year. This was mainly driven to deter Iran and its nuclear program. Both the GCC member states and Egypt both fly the U.S. built F-16 and regularly test their fighting skills at RED FLAG, an advanced aerial combat training exercise hosted at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada and Eielson Air Force Base Alaska. They participate in very realistic aerial war games. The purpose is to train pilots from the U.S., NATO and other allied countries for real combat situations. This includes the use of “enemy” hardware and live ammunition for bombing exercises within the Nevada Test and Training Range.

Here is the UAE Airforce at RED FLAG.



It seems that the idea of a no-fly-zone being put in practice is no longer if but when, given the changing circumstances of the past few days and weeks.

Report: British special forces prepared to seize Qaddafi’s mustard gas; UK spies and MI6 to help rebels and opposition groups

 

British Special Air Service(s)

British special forces are poised to seize caches of mustard gas and other potential chemical weapons being stored by Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s regime.

American sources have disclosed that the SAS is likely to be called upon to secure up to 10 tons of mustard gas and sarin that is believed to be stockpiled at three separate locations.

Special forces are thought to have been in Libya for about 10 days and have already played a leading role in rescuing hundreds of oil workers.

On Tuesday, David Cameron continued to increase the pressure on Gaddafi by warning that Britain should negotiate with opposition groups. He said that, if the Libyan regime started “murdering” its people with aircraft, plans should be in place to “do something to stop that”.

It emerged that Typhoon fighter jets may be moved to an RAF base in Cyprus in the latest sign that military action could be necessary.

However, a growing coalition of foreign governments publicly opposed the use of military force. The American government also played down the prospect, despite sources disclosing earlier this week that warships and planes were being moved into position around Libya.

There is growing international concern over the stockpiles of chemical weapons that Gaddafi is thought to still retain, amid fears they could be used to attack protesters or be seized by terrorists.

British sources said they were yet to receive a specific US request for SAS involvement in any operation to secure the weapons sites, but officials said plans were being drawn up for “every eventuality”.

Sir John Major, the former prime minister, said that if Gaddafi used the chemical weapons it could trigger a military conflict.

Asked if the use of chemical weapons would make a difference to the military’s approach, Sir John said: “I think it would, and I think it should. I recall going out to visit the troops just before the first Gulf War. From the youngest to the most senior commander the one area that was of great concern was that Saddam Hussein would use chemical weapons.

“He didn’t. I think he understood that the world would descend upon him in the most terrible way if he did. And I very much hope that the same point will apply to Colonel Gaddafi in Libya.”

Mr Cameron used a press conference to speak out against the regime. “It’s right for us to plan and look at plans for a no-fly zone,” he said. “We should also be making contact, getting a greater understanding of the opposition forces that are now in Benghazi and in control of quite a lot of the country. I don’t think we should go beyond that for now.”

Saif Gaddafi, the dictator’s son and heir apparent, attacked Mr Cameron and accused him of “thinking greedily about oil”. He said the Prime Minister “wants to be a hero” and denied that Libyans were interested in regime change.

Yesterday, any Britons still in Libya were urged to make their way to Benghazi to board a Royal Navy destroyer on its way to the port.

European Union leaders are to meet for an extraordinary summit on March 11 to seek a response to the crisis, and to the turmoil in the wider Arab world.

Hillary Clinton, US Secretary of State, said last night that the Obama administration may seek the prosecution of Gaddafi for the 1988 Lockerbie bombing.

The announcement follows claims last week by Gaddafi’s former justice minister that the Libyan leader had personally authorised the bombing of Pan Am flight 103, which killed 270 people.

Elite troops and MI6 spies poised to help Libyan rebels.

Britain is to send teams of spies and diplomats into Libya to help oust Colonel Gaddafi, it emerged last night.

MI6 operatives backed by the SAS are to land in the east around the key rebel stronghold of Benghazi ‘within days’.

In addition, 600 soldiers of the Black Watch are on 24-hour standby to fly in and avert a humanitarian catastrophe as Libya erupted into a new wave of bloodshed.

Around 200 of the 600 UK troops are ready to deploy at South Cerney forward barracks near RAF Lyneham, Britain’s main military air transport base.

Ready: 600 soldiers of the Black Watch are on 24-hour standby to fly in and avert a humanitarian catastrophe in Libya.

British diplomats and spies have been engaged in intensive efforts to speak to opposition forces, which are led by Mustafa Abdel Jalil, head of the rebel National Libyan Council.

Now ministers have approved a presence on the ground to gather information and boost the chances of the rebels.

The liaison teams will be primarily composed of envoys but will include some intelligence officers.

They will link up with Special Forces already in Libya to provide protection and give informal military advice to the Libyan opposition.

The teams are said to be there ‘primarily’ to gather information. But they will advise the rebels on how to secure a handover of power and set up a democratic government.

‘Once we get to the stage where we have a transition, part of what we’re looking at is supporting that transition,’ a source said.

Britain has also stepped up its military preparations, sending the frigate Westminster and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship Argus to the area.

Britain still has three Chinook helicopters in Malta. And military planning for a No Fly Zone gathered pace yesterday when the North Atlantic Council tasked Nato military authorities with providing a range of plans yesterday.

Britain is likely to play a central role in any military action since the continuing evacuation and humanitarian aid flights are all being coordinated by a Joint Force Headquarters in Malta.

It is understood that the UK is more likely to supply air-to-air refuelling planes and AWACS spy-in-the-sky aircraft to any No Fly Zone operation.

These planes are already flying around Libya’s air space monitoring Colonel Gaddafi’s use of his air force and helicopter gunships.

Here is a video report about the British SAS, its history and rescue operations in hostile territory.

With France sending aid to the opposition rebel groups, and the calling for air strikes, Judgement day is coming soon for Qaddafi as he tries to hold onto power.

Libyan opposition groups seek U.S. support, calls for air strikes against Qaddafi

 

Growing anger: Baying protesters in the city of al-Zawiya, west of Tripoli demand Gaddafi leave the country as Western countries considered military action.

Libya’s opposition is increasingly seeking U.S. military support to push out Col. Gadhafi. Libyan dissidents held meetings with the State Department in Washington this week in which they called for greater logistical support from U.S. and NATO forces, and possibly targeted military strikes on against Col. Gadhafi’s air force, tanks and troops.

Libya’s opposition is increasingly seeking U.S. military support to push out Col. Gadhafi. Libyan dissidents held meetings with the State Department in Washington this week in which they called for greater logistical support from U.S. and NATO forces, and possibly targeted military strikes on against Col. Gadhafi’s air force, tanks and troops.

“We’re worried this conflict could drag on,” said Ali Rishi, among the dissidents who met with the State Department this week. “We don’t want Gadhafi to feel he can survive.”

A senior State Department official confirmed the U.S. has met with a variety of Libyan opposition figures this week but wouldn’t discuss the details. “There were a variety of views expressed,” he said.

The U.S. has said it wouldn’t rule out any steps to ensure Col. Gadhafi exits power, as the White House and international community continue to exert pressure. The United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday suspended Libya from the U.N. Human Rights Council over the violent crackdown on protesters.

On Tuesday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told Congress that Libya risks falling into “civil war” unless the international community offers a more coordinated response to the bloodshed there. “In the years ahead, Libya could become a peaceful democracy, or it could face protracted civil war, or it could descend into chaos,” she said.

Abdel-Hassib Ghogah, vice president of the Libyan Provisional Council, has called for a no-fly zone over Libya.

The Pentagon announced it has begun to ‘reposition’ warships including an aircraft carrier with 90 fighter aircraft to join a no-fly zone. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said: ‘The no-fly zone is an option we are actively considering. All options are on the table.’

Closing in: The nuclear-powered USS Enterprise, bristling with warplanes, has left pirate-hunting duty off Somalia and is now heading towards Libya.

Under the plans, Britain, the U.S. and other Nato allies would police a no-fly zone with different air forces providing cover at different times. The flight ban may cover the whole of Libya, or areas under rebel control.

Britain could deploy up to 59 Eurofighter Typhoons from RAF Coningsby and RAF Leuchars in Scotland – leaving 12 for home air defence. They are expected to fly from RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, where British ‘eye in the sky’ AWACS aircraft are already stationed.

If troops are needed, a detachment of the Mercian regiment, earmarked for Afghanistan, is available in Cyprus. The Parachute regiment or the Royal Marines are the more likely options.  Gadhafi is quickly running out of options, especially since the oil revenue is no longer coming in at the same pace it used to.

Map of the day

Libyan rebel opposition asks for western air strikes against Muammar Qaddafi

Libyan rebel leadership requests UN airstrikes to dislodge Qaddafi. In a sign of mounting frustration among rebel leaders over Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi’s diminished but unyielding grip on power, rebel leaders have asked for Western airstrikes under the United Nations banner, according to people with knowledge of the deliberations.

Rebel leaders in eastern Libya have called for international military intervention to help topple Muammar Gaddafi, fearing people power alone may not be enough to dislodge their nation’s autocratic leader from his last remaining strongholds.

The rebels said they didn’t want ground forces, but they are coming round to the view that help in the form of a flight exclusion zone, as well as air strikes and supplies of weapons, will be necessary to ensure Colonel Gaddafi’s fall.

As the regime battled rebel forces, panic spread through the capital, Tripoli, yesterday after a fuel truck exploded. It was not immediately clear whether the explosion was an act of sabotage, although security forces said a road accident was to blame.

There were reports last night that a town in the rebel-held east of Libya has come under air attacks and forces loyal to Gaddafi have retaken a nearby oil facility. Witnesses saw two warplanes bomb the eastern part of the town of Ajdabiya. They also said that pro-Gaddafi forces were advancing on the town, some 750km east of the capital Tripoli.

US military officials said the rebels in the east had not yet asked for help, and on Tuesday played down the likelihood of the US setting up a no-fly zone.

But in the eastern city of Benghazi, the centre of the resistance, some members of the committee formed to run the city said they expected to issue a formal request to the international community today for military assistance.

A militia of jittery factory workers and shopkeepers used anti-aircraft guns to blaze at empty skies as they vowed to hold eastern Libya’s front line a day after it was bombed by Colonel Gaddafi’s air force.

”A no-fly zone would limit his … ability to move mercenaries from south to north and to recruit mercenaries from sub-Saharan Africa,” said a member of Misurata’s media committee.

”Providing military equipment and arms to our free army in the east will help the free army march to Tripoli. And we want surgical military strikes to target his militia and make this end swiftly and … not to shed any more innocent Libyan blood.”

Regime opponents control the centre of Misurata, according to the spokesman. They also claim control over most of the military air base to the south.

Meanwhile, two US warships have entered the Suez Canal en route to Libya. ”The USS Kearsarge and the USS Ponce are making their way to the Mediterranean sea,” a canal authority official said.

In the west of Libya, tens of thousands of refugees could find themselves in a humanitarian disaster as they threaten to overwhelm neighbouring Tunisia’s meagre resources.

More than 75,000 refugees have crossed at the Ras Jedir border outpost so far. Fifteen thousand more were expected to arrive yesterday, with tens of thousands of others trapped on the Libyan side of the border.

Melissa Fleming, a spokeswoman for UNHCR, the UN’s refugee agency, said the situation was reaching ”crisis point”.

After a UN meeting in Geneva, Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd said the debate over a flight exclusion zone was a sign the international community was taking human rights concerns seriously.

”If things go completely pear-shaped in Libya you can’t rule out the possibility [more military] assets would be used against opposition forces – and that means civilians,” he said.

By invoking the United Nations, a council of opposition leaders made up of lawyers, academics, judges and other prominent figures is seeking to draw a distinction between such airstrikes and foreign intervention, which the rebels said they emphatically opposed.  Qaddafi isn’t strong enough to recapture nearby cities, but the rebels aren’t strong enough to break his hold on the capital, which appears to have quieted down. If he keeps resupplying via air, at the very least he can hold on in his corner of the country for a good long while. At worst, he can build up to the point where he’s steamrolling people again.

Here is a video report