People gather near a burning aircraft north of Benghazi, Libya, Thursday, March 17. Witnesses said the aircraft was piloted by anti-Gadhafi rebels and crashed for mechanical reasons. Gadhafi’s forces encircled a key eastern city and his warplanes went deeper into rebel-held territory to bombard Benghazi’s airport Thursday, threatening an all-out offensive to bring down the rebellion. (Alaguri / AP)
The announcement followed a fierce attack by Gadhafi’s forces against Misrata, the last rebel-held city in the western half of the country. Six people were reportedly killed, 70 injured and several mosques, schools and residential buildings badly damaged.
The fighting there appeared to have continued despite the ceasefire declaration, with Al Arabiya reporting shooting from tanks and armored cars on unarmed civilians.
Hillary Clinton on Friday also said the U.S. wanted to see evidence of a cease-fire instead of just words from the Libyan government.
“We are not going to be impressed by words, we have to see actions on the ground and that is not at all clear,” she said.
The U.N. Security Council resolution, which was passed late Thursday after weeks of deliberation, set the stage for airstrikes, a no-fly zone and other military measures short of a ground invasion. Britain announced that it would send fighter jets and France was making plans to deploy planes, but the U.S. had yet to announce what its role would be. NATO also held an emergency meeting.
Earlier Friday, Al Arabiya quoted one of Gadhafi’s sons as saying Libya was not afraid of the U.N.’s no-fly zone resolution. Al Arabiya did not say where or when Saif al-Islam made the remark.
Libya also closed its air space to all traffic Friday, European air traffic control organization Eurocontrol said. Eurocontrol said it had received information from Malta that Tripoli air traffic control had put out a notice saying it was not accepting any aircraft into Libyan airspace “until further notice.”
The Libyan Defense Ministry had warned of swift retaliation, even beyond Libyan frontiers, against any military action against the oil-exporting nation, which is fighting rebels trying to end Gadhafi’s four-decade rule.
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