Nato to bomb in Ramadan

Facebook Digg StumbleUpon Text Size

BRUSSELS (AFP) - NATO will keep bombing Moamer Gaddafi's forces during Ramadan in August as long as the Libyan regime continues to attack civilians during the Muslim holy month, the alliance said Tuesday.
"We need to wait and see wether the Gaddafi forces continue to shell and inflict harm on the people of Libya," said the NATO operation's military spokesman, Wing Commander Mike Bracken. "If they do, and we believe that there is risk to the lives of the Libyan people, and men, women and children could be slaughtered or attacked, then I think it would be highly appropriate for the protection of those lives to continue," he said via videolink from mission headquarters in Naples, Italy.
In Brussels, alliance spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said: "It is hoped that the Gaddafi forces will stop attacking and threatening to attack civilians not just for Ramadan but immediately." She recalled that the three military objectives outlined by NATO allies is for Gaddafi to end all attacks on civilians, return his troops to barracks and allow full access to humanitarian aid.