French enforce no-fly zone by shooting down Libyan aircraft

The plane, a smaller training aircraft, was attacked when it landed in the besieged coastal city of Misrata.

France’s joint chiefs of staff said their surveillance aircraft noticed the Libyan combat plane flying near the city and that the Rafale fighter jet attacked with a guided air-to-ground missile after it landed at an air base.

It was the first incident of its kind since enforcement of the zone began and came less than a 24 hours after a senior RAF commander claimed the allied forces had all but destroyed Muammar Gaddafi’s air force.

Speaking at the southern Italian air base of Gioio del Colle, where the British force is stationed, RAF Group Captain Martin Sampson said: “I think it sends a powerful message that the coalition planes in the air at the moment are flying equipped to deal with anything that Gaddafi throws at them and if he does fly planes, we’re effecting a no-fly zone and one of the ways we do that is to shoot a plane down if necessary.”

He dismissed suggestions that France was playing a more aggressive role than the UK, describing the operation as a “coalition team effort, a collective effort”.

He said: “We don’t keep a tally between the French, the US, the British or anyone else. It’s a coalition and how we perform as a coalition.

“It’s not about us and what we do, it’s what do we collectively contribute.”

He added: “I don’t think anyone could look at a Tornado or a Typhoon, with the weapons fit they have, and think that is less aggressive than anything anyone else has.”

If necessary, the British force is able to deploy in under 10 minutes and has the “capability to deal with anything that comes up,” he added.

Foreign Secretary William Hague said the no-fly zone was established and UK forces had so far taken part in 59 aerial missions, as well as air and missile strikes.

He told MPs that he wanted to see operations moved from the command of the United States to Nato “as quickly as possible”.

“We need agreement to unified command and control for it to be robust, and we expect to get that soon,” he said. With Washington insisting the US would step back from its leading role within days, Prime Minister David Cameron wants Nato to take the lead.

But French president Nicolas Sarkozy, backed by Turkey and Germany, wants the alliance kept in a support role, with strategic decisions taken only by the governments in the military coalition.

Mr Sarkozy insists Nato primacy would send the wrong signal to Arab League nations which have joined the offensive.

He wants the lead taken by a temporary “steering group” made up of the countries involved in the military action.

The command and control issue was being discussed last night at the European Union summit, with Turkey’s parliament authorising the government to take part in military operations.

If the dispute were to be resolved, it would remove a major obstacle which could have affected talks in London next Tuesday when Mr Hague will host a meeting of Nato allies, involving Arab League and African Union countries and UN officials to discuss the Libya situation.

He said: “Resolution 1973 lays out very clear conditions that must be met, including an immediate ceasefire, a halt to all attacks on civilians and full humanitarian access to those in need.

“We will continue our efforts until these conditions are fulfilled. The Libyan regime will be judged by its actions, not its words.”