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Washington (AFP) Feb 27, 2011 US and European officials discussed plans to impose a no-fly zone over Libya to prevent further killings of civilians by troops loyal to the country's embattled leader Moamer Kadhafi, The New York Times reported late Sunday. The newspaper cited an unnamed senior administration official as saying that no decision had been made. Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said Sunday that a key friendship treaty signed between Italy and Libya in 2008 was "de facto suspended." "When the head of a regime shoots his own people the international community has to react and it has reacted," he said after the approval of UN sanctions. Asked about the possibility of imposing a no-fly zone in Libya, Frattini said: "It's an option that would constitute a real escalation of a military-type intervention. We need time to reflect on it." The friendship treaty between Italy and Libya opened the way to billions of euros (dollars) in investment deals between the two countries and imposed a harsh crackdown on illegal immigration toward Italian shores. The Times said the accord also contains a non-aggression clause that some analysts said complicated Italy's position in the event of international military intervention in Libya. According to The Times, imposing a no-fly zone would require further debate among the 15 nations on the Security Council, which was unlikely to act unless there was a significant increase in state-sponsored violence in Libya, including the use of aircraft against civilians. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was scheduled to meet with President Barack Obama on Monday at the White House to discuss the deteriorating situation in Libya. Obama administration officials said Sunday that they were also discussing whether the US military could disrupt communications to prevent Colonel Kadhafi from broadcasting in Libya, the paper said. In addition, the administration was looking at whether the military could be used to set up a corridor in neighboring Tunisia or Egypt to assist refugees, the report said. There are several United States and NATO bases in Italy that presumably would be staging areas for any action against Libya, including the United States Sixth Fleet base near Naples, the paper said.
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Third Greek ferry of Chinese fleeing Libya arrives in CreteHeraklion, Greece (AFP) Feb 26, 2011 A third Greek ferry chartered by China to evacuate its nationals from Libya cast anchor in the port of Heraklion on the southern Greek island of Crete early Saturday. The Venizelos, which had come from the Libyan second city Benghazi, now in the hand of insurgents, immediately began disembarking its 2,911 passengers. The Olympic Champion and Hellenic Spirit had already put into Heraklion ... read more |
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