US, Allies Stage Airstrikes Near Tripoli, Gadhafi Threatens 'Long War'
The United States and its allies have carried out more airstrikes on Libyan government targets near the capital, Tripoli, as part of an operation to enforce a U.N.-authorized no-fly zone over Libya and protect Libyan civilians from government attacks.
Western warplanes dropped bombs on Tripoli's outskirts early Sunday, drawing anti-aircraft fire from forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. The top U.S. military officer, Admiral Mike Mullen, told U.S. television networks Sunday that the initial phase of the no-fly zone operation that began a day earlier went well.
Gadhafi responded to the airstrikes by threatening to engage Western forces in a "long war." In an audio address broadcast on state television early Sunday, Gadhafi said there is "no justification" for the interference by the United States and European nations. He said the air strikes amounted to terrorism.
Libyan state television said 48 people were killed and 150 wounded in the allied assault. Mullen said he has seen no evidence of civilian casualties resulting from the airstrikes.
A U.S. Defense Department official said more than 112 Tomahawk missiles were fired Saturday from U.S. and British ships and submarines in the Mediterranean. More than 20 targets deemed a direct threat to coalition forces and Libyan civilians were hit in the attacks.
The U.N. authorized the use of "all necessary measures" to protect civilians from attacks by forces loyal to Gadhafi. Libyan government forces have been closing in on rebel-held towns.
Gadhafi denounced the strikes as "unjustified crusader aggression." The Libyan leader vowed to retaliate against military and civilian targets in the Mediterranean, saying the region had been turned into a "real battlefield."
Thousands of Libyans gathered Saturday in the highly-fortified compound where Gadhafi lives in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, to form a human shield against possible air strikes.
Anti-aircraft fire could be heard overnight in the capital.
In Brazil, visiting U.S. President Barack Obama said Gadhafi had given the West no choice but to take military action. British Prime Minister David Cameron said in London that the action against Gadhafi was "necessary, legal and right.''
French warplanes were the first to pound Libyan targets Saturday. The military action was decided at an emergency international summit in Paris earlier in the day.
Pro-government forces in Libya had advanced against rebels on two fronts Saturday. Insurgents in their eastern stronghold of Benghazi said government loyalists had been pushing forward, in apparent disregard of a cease-fire Gadhafi declared Friday.
There were also reports of fighting south of Benghazi in Adjabiya as well as in Misrata, a rebel-held city in western Libya near Tripoli.
fuente: http://www.voanews.com/
Western warplanes dropped bombs on Tripoli's outskirts early Sunday, drawing anti-aircraft fire from forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. The top U.S. military officer, Admiral Mike Mullen, told U.S. television networks Sunday that the initial phase of the no-fly zone operation that began a day earlier went well.
Gadhafi responded to the airstrikes by threatening to engage Western forces in a "long war." In an audio address broadcast on state television early Sunday, Gadhafi said there is "no justification" for the interference by the United States and European nations. He said the air strikes amounted to terrorism.
Libyan state television said 48 people were killed and 150 wounded in the allied assault. Mullen said he has seen no evidence of civilian casualties resulting from the airstrikes.
A U.S. Defense Department official said more than 112 Tomahawk missiles were fired Saturday from U.S. and British ships and submarines in the Mediterranean. More than 20 targets deemed a direct threat to coalition forces and Libyan civilians were hit in the attacks.
The U.N. authorized the use of "all necessary measures" to protect civilians from attacks by forces loyal to Gadhafi. Libyan government forces have been closing in on rebel-held towns.
Gadhafi denounced the strikes as "unjustified crusader aggression." The Libyan leader vowed to retaliate against military and civilian targets in the Mediterranean, saying the region had been turned into a "real battlefield."
Thousands of Libyans gathered Saturday in the highly-fortified compound where Gadhafi lives in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, to form a human shield against possible air strikes.
Anti-aircraft fire could be heard overnight in the capital.
In Brazil, visiting U.S. President Barack Obama said Gadhafi had given the West no choice but to take military action. British Prime Minister David Cameron said in London that the action against Gadhafi was "necessary, legal and right.''
French warplanes were the first to pound Libyan targets Saturday. The military action was decided at an emergency international summit in Paris earlier in the day.
Pro-government forces in Libya had advanced against rebels on two fronts Saturday. Insurgents in their eastern stronghold of Benghazi said government loyalists had been pushing forward, in apparent disregard of a cease-fire Gadhafi declared Friday.
There were also reports of fighting south of Benghazi in Adjabiya as well as in Misrata, a rebel-held city in western Libya near Tripoli.
fuente: http://www.voanews.com/
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