NATO will maintain operations Gaddafi is not a goal

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) said Tuesday that "the mission" in Libya is not over" and said forces of the Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi, "are seriously affected." Spokesman Roland Lavoie said "no" to providing air support to the rebels in Tripoli, because fighting in the capital is "urban combat".

"We recall that the situation in Tripoli is complex, we're talking about urban combat. We will not provide air support to the rebels," said Lavoie during a news conference from the headquarters of the operation in Naples (southern Italy).

Lavoie said that "we have to wait for orders to conduct attacks (...) Yes we are in Tripoli seeing what happens and we can identify attacks on the population, but we will not provide support."

He stressed that NATO will continue its operations in Libya and bomb Gaddafi's forces "if they keep fighting."

Also, his spokesman said that if the Libyan leader "flees, we will not pursue him," because "he is not a goal."

"NATO is not aimed at individuals. Gaddafi is not a target," he said.

However he said that if the Libyan leader is within one of the buildings targeted by NATO, thus it would "be a goal."

"We set some government buildings and if Gaddafi is in one of these buildings it will be a goal," said Lavoie.

Meanwhile, another organization representative said "we remain vigilant with our partners. Our operations in June extended for ninety days, we will continue deploying assets depending on what happens on the site."

On Tuesday, the spokesman of the Government of Libya, Musa Ibrahim, said that most of Tripoli is controlled by forces loyal to Gaddafi, with the ability to repel the attacks of armed men from the National Transitional Council (NTC) and NATO.

Speaking on Libyan television, Ibrahim said that between 80 and 75 percent of the city of Tripoli is under government control.

"Tripoli at the moment, is far better than it was yesterday (Monday). Yesterday, the attack was fierce and the bombing as well, but today (Tuesday) we were able to repel a series of attacks during the day," said a spokesman for the Libyan Government.

NATO airstrikes over the past weekend facilitated the entry of armed ranks of NTC in Tripoli. The bombings of the Atlantic military bloc and the open fire by opponents killed at least 1,300 persons.

Entering Tripoli, the NTC said it had taken control of the Libyan capital and announced it had taken Saif Al Islam Gaddafi, son of the Libyan leader, as a prisoner. The information was denied when the subject appeared on local television screens..

On 31 March, NATO assumed command of attacks on the heart of Libya, after completing 12 days of imperialist aggression led by the United States, France and the United Kingdom on the North African nation.

These attacks were approved on 17 March by the Security Council of the United Nations (UN), which claimed that on that date, the Libyan Government was "attacking" civilians.

According to the UN, the bombing was "protecting" the population, but since they began, to date, more than 2,600 Libyans were killed, including more than two hundred children and a dozen imams (religious leaders) .

teleSUR / kg-ma-PR

Translated from the Spanish version by:

Lisa Karpova

Pravda.Ru