Russia calls on Nato to probe Libya attacks

Russia has urged Nato to investigate civilian deaths in Libya from its bombing campaign, saying the alliance’s claim that there were no non-military casualties is untrue.

Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin said he had been asking Nato to give “a definitive report” to the UN Security Council summing up its activities in Libya. But he said “unfortunately” the alliance only provided “piecemeal, rather perfunctory reports that were not very informative”.

Russia holds the council presidency this month and Mr Churkin said he would raise the issue of civilian casualties when it discussed Libya today.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Mark Kornblau, spokesman for the US Mission to the United Nations, said the Nato campaign was intended to protect Libyan civilians.

“The Nato mission in Libya was responsible for saving tens of thousands of innocent civilians from imminent slaughter by a madman,” he added.

Nato’s seven-month air campaign against Libya was hailed as a triumph by the alliance and its supporters for setting the country on the path to a democratic transition after the ousting and killing of dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

But the operation’s critics – including Russia, China and the African Union – have argued that Nato misused the limited UN resolution imposing a no-fly zone and authorising the protection of civilians as a pretext to promote regime change.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“Unfortunately, Nato adopted the pure propaganda style, claiming zero civilian casualties in Libya which was completely implausible first of all and secondly not true,” Mr Churkin said.

He said it was “cruel and cynical” for people whose houses were destroyed, whose relatives were killed or injured, and who are suffering from stigma because their neighbours suspect they were bombed because they were Gaddafi sympathisers, “to be told that actually nothing of this kind happened”.

Related topics: