FreaknDavid

By the CNN Wire Staff
March 18, 2011 9:07 a.m. EDT


Libyan rebels celebrate vote


(CNN) -- Libya called for a cease-fire and a halt to military action on Friday, hours after the U.N. Security Council authorized the use of force to protect besieged civilians in Libya.
Libyan Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa, speaking to reporters Friday in Tripoli, said that in light of its membership in the United Nations, the country is "obliged to accept the Security Council resolution that permits the use of force to protect the civilian population."
"Therefore, Libya has decided an immediate ceasefire and the stoppage of all military operations," Koussa said.
Earlier Friday, talk of swift military action against Moammar Gadhafi's regime emerged in Europe.
Speaking in an interview with RTL radio, French government spokesman Francois Baroin said France plans to participate in what he described as "swift" efforts.
British Prime Minister David Cameron said Britain has started preparations to deploy aircraft, and "in the coming hours" they will move to air bases where they will be positioned for any "necessary action."
Spain will offer NATO the use of two military bases and also provide air and naval forces for use in operations involving Libya, Defense Minister Carme Chacon said on Friday in Madrid, a defense ministry spokesman told CNN.
The two bases to be offered in southern Spain are the Rota air-naval station, where a contingent of U.S. troops is also based, and the airbase at Moron de la Frontera. Those, as well as the offer to provide air and naval assets, would be subject to parliamentary approval, the minister said at an event at a Spanish air base in Madrid, the spokesman said.
The council Thursday night voted 10 to 0 with five abstentions to authorize "states to take all necessary measures to protect civilians" and it imposed a no-fly zone, banning all flights in Libyan airspace, with exceptions that involve humanitarian aid and evacuation of foreign nationals.
The decisive Security Council move comes after weeks of civil war between the Gadhafi regime and opposition forces, a conflict spurred by an anti-government uprising and regime violence against civilians -- which the U.N. resolution cites as "outrageous."
Koussa says the country is disappointed in the imposition of a no-fly zone, arguing that it will hurt the civilian population and he said the use of military power violates the country's sovereignty.
"There are signs this indeed might take place," Koussa said, referring to the use of military power.
It was not immediately clear just how an international military operation and possible strikes against the Libyan military might unfold.
The United States and NATO partners have contingencies in place to act within hours, according to an administration official familiar with planning.
The contingencies include air strikes and cruise missile attacks designed to cripple Libyan air defenses and punish military units leading Gadhafi's push on opposition strongholds in the east, the official said.
U.S. President Barack Obama will insist on a major Arab role in any no-fly zone, the official said.
The Arab League's U.N. ambassador, Yahya Mahmassani, said two Arab countries would take part in a no-fly zone operation, but he was not sure which two.
U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz told a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Thursday that establishing a zone would take "upwards of a week."
But the U.S. military does not view a no-fly zone alone as sufficient to stop Gadhafi. Military officials have said that this move would not halt the heavy artillery the regime is using on the ground.
All commercial air traffic has been shut down in Libya, an official at Eurocontrol said on Friday.
Kaim, speaking in Tripoli, told reporters after the vote that the country will safeguard civilians and its territorial integrity. He called on the international community to send a fact-finding mission to the African nation but not lend material support to rebels.
The opposition, with devoted but largely untrained and under-equipped units, has suffered military setbacks this week. But their hopes were buoyed by the U.N. vote, particularly in rebel-held Benghazi, where an assault by pro-Gadhafi forces has been expected.
The resolution singles out the city. It says U.N. member states can "take all necessary measures ... to protect civilians and civilian populated areas under threat of attack in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, including Benghazi, while excluding a foreign occupation force."
Gadhafi's son Saadi told CNN Thursday evening that troops will change their tactics and take up positions around Benghazi Saturday or Sunday and assist people fleeing from the city.
The younger Gadhafi said there will be no large-scale assault. Instead police and anti-terrorism units will be sent into the rebel stronghold to disarm the opposition. Unspecified humanitarian groups can help with the exodus of civilians from Benghazi, Saadi Gadhafi said.
In a radio address aired on Libyan state TV, Gadhafi criticized residents of Benghazi and called them "traitors" for seeking help from outsiders.
Along with France, Britain and the United States voted for the resolution, which condemns the "gross and systematic violation of human rights, including arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, torture and summary executions."
It details enforcement of an arms embargo against Libya, the freezing of assets and a ban on most flights.
"The United States stands with the Libyan people in support of their universal rights," said U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice.
The abstentions came from China, Russia, Germany, India, and Brazil. Germany said it was concerned about a protracted military conflict. China said it opposes the use of armed force in international relations.
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