UN threat prompts Libya to declare ceasefire
Posted March 18, 2011 9:13 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Libya has declared an immediate ceasefire and claims it has stopped all military operations against its rebels.
Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa announced the decision Friday, hours after the United Nations Security Council authorized a no-fly zone over the country and vowed to take “all necessary measures” to protect the Libyan people.
The minister said the ceasefire would “take the country back to safety,” though he also criticized the international military action which he said violated his country’s sovereignty.
But many doubt Koussa’s words, including foreign leaders and the rebels themselves, who said hours after the statement that the Libyan government had bombarded the city of Mistrata, 200 km east of Tripoli.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper said he was encouraged by the truce, but would still send six CF-18 fighter jets on a three-month mission to help enforce it. Britain and France have already said they would send planes as well.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon declined to comment about the development and instead demanded Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi comply with Thursday’s resolution.
With files from the Associated Press
