May 2nd, 2011 by Oman Views

BRUSSELS – After two airstrikes in a week on targets close to Moammar Gadhafi, NATO was on the defensive Sunday over accusations that it was overstepping its mandate by trying to kill the Libyan leader.

Russia said Sunday that the bombing of the home of Gadhafi’s youngest son raised “serious doubts” about NATO’s assertions that it is not targeting the Libyan strongman or his relatives.

“Disproportionate use of force … is leading to detrimental consequences and the death of innocent civilians,” the Russian Foreign Ministry warned.

International law does not explicitly forbid attacks on military commanders during wartime, but the U.N. Security Council mandate authorizing NATO action charged alliance forces with establishing a no-fly zone and protecting civilians from attack.

Security council members Russia, China and Brazil have warned that attempts to change the regime or eliminate its members would be a violation of the mandate.

Alliance officials and allied leaders emphatically denied they were hunting Gadhafi in order to break a stalemate in the war between the better-trained government forces and the lightly armed rebels. NATO said the Libyan government’s announcement that Gadhafi’s son and three grandchildren were killed in the airstrike late Saturday remained unconfirmed.

“All NATO’s targets are military in nature and have been clearly linked to the Gadhafi regime’s systematic attacks on the Libyan population and populated areas. We do not target individuals,” said Canadian Lt. Gen. Charles Bouchard, who commands NATO’s operation in Libya.

Bouchard said the strike was part of NATO’s strategy to disrupt and destroy “the command and control of those forces which have been attacking civilians.”

Michael Clarke, director of the Royal United Services Institute, a London military think tank, noted that NATO warplanes have been shifting their focus in the past two weeks, from providing close support for the rebels on the front lines to focusing on military and government communication nodes.

The immediate aim appeared to be to impair Gadhafi’s ability to direct units surrounding the besieged enclave of Misrata on the Mediterranean coast, where pro-regime forces have suffered a series of setbacks, he said.

Another aim could be to increase the psychological pressure on Gadhafi and the people close to him, by demonstrating “that the war is getting closer to them,” he said.

Another analyst said that there was a fine line between hitting military command-and-control centers, and hitting the people commanding and controlling Libya’s armed forces.

“You’re obviously risking hitting Gadhafi and members of his family, certainly those members involved in commanding the military,” said Nate Hughes, director of military analysis at Stratfor, a global intelligence company.

Hughes said there was confusion about the aim of the strikes partly because of an “inherent contradiction” about what NATO’s military objectives were. Politicians in the U.S., Britain and the Netherlands are talking about forcing Gadhafi out of power but NATO continues to insist that the strongman is not a target, he noted.

NATO took over command of the operation on March 31, after its governing body approved military plans to implement a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for the protection of civilians from attacks by regime troops.

One of the first targets of the international force after the start of hostilities, was Gadhafi’s Bab al-Aziziya presidential compound – which was previously bombed by U.S. warplanes in 1986 in retaliation for the attack on a German disco in which two U.S. servicemen were killed.

Last Monday, another strike on the same complex destroyed two more buildings.

At a joint news conference a day later, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and British Defense Minister Liam Fox denied the warplanes had targeted Gadhafi specifically, but said they would continue to take aim at his command centers.

NATO says the air offensive, which began on March 21 with attacks by a U.S.-led coalition, has so far destroyed or damaged about 600 targets, including about 200 tanks and armored personnel carriers, as well as dozens of surface-to-air missile sites, ammunition dumps and artillery pieces.

It declined to say Sunday how many command centers had been attacked.

By SLOBODAN LEKIC, Associated Press. Lynn Berry in Moscow contributed.

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May 1st, 2011 by Oman Views

TRIPOLI, Libya – Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi escaped a NATO missile strike in Tripoli on Saturday, but his youngest son and three grandchildren under the age of 12 were killed, a government spokesman said.

The strike, which came hours after Gadhafi called for a cease-fire and negotiations in what rebels called a publicity stunt, marked an escalation of international efforts to prevent the Libyan regime from regaining momentum.

Rebels honked horns and chanted “Allahu Akbar” or “God is great” while speeding through the western city of Misrata, which Gadhafi’s forces have besieged and subjected to random shelling for two months, killing hundreds. Fireworks were set off in front of the central Hikma hospital, causing a brief panic that the light would draw fire from Gadhafi’s forces.

The attack struck the house of Gadhafi’s youngest son, Seif al-Arab, when the Libyan leader and his wife were inside. White House spokesman Shin Inouye declined to comment on the developments in Libya, referring questions to NATO.

The alliance acknowledged that it had struck a “command and control building in the Bab al-Azizya neighborhood” Saturday evening, but it could not confirm the death of Gadhafi’s son and insisted all its targets are military in nature and linked to Gadhafi’s systematic attacks on the population.

The commander of the NATO operation, Canadian Lt. Gen. Charles Bouchard, said he was aware of unconfirmed reports that some Gadhafi family members may have been killed and he regretted “all loss of life, specially the innocent civilians being harmed as a result of the ongoing conflict.”

Seif al-Arab Gadhafi, 29, was the youngest son of Gadhafi and brother of the better known Seif al-Islam Gadhafi, who had been touted as a reformist before the uprising began in mid-February. The younger Gadhafi had spent much of his time in Germany in recent years.

Gadhafi’s children had been increasingly engaged in covering up scandals fit for a “Libyan soap opera,” including negative publicity from extravagant displays of wealth such as a million-dollar private concert by pop diva Beyonce, according to a batch of diplomatic cables released by the secret-spilling WikiLeaks website.

But Seif al-Arab remained largely in the shadows, although he had a penchant for fast cars and partying when outside Libya.

Moammar Gadhafi and his wife were in the Tripoli house of his 29-year-old son when it was hit by at least one bomb dropped from a NATO warplane, according to Libyan spokesman Moussa Ibrahim.

“The leader himself is in good health,” Ibrahim said. “He was not harmed. The wife is also in good health.”

Ibrahim would not give the names of the three children killed, except to say they were nieces and nephews of Seif al-Arab and that they were younger than 12. He said they are not releasing the names yet to protect the privacy of the family.

He said the compound that was hit was in the Garghour neighborhood.

“It seems there was intelligence that was leaked. They knew about something. They expected him for some reason. But the target was very clear, very, very clear. And the neighborhood, yes of course, because the leader family has a place there, you could expect of course it would be guarded, but it is a normal neighborhood. Normal Libyans live there,” he said.

NATO warplanes have been carrying out airstrikes in Libya for the past month as part of a U.N. mandate to protect Libyan civilians. Saturday’s strike marked the first time Gadhafi’s family was being targeted directly.

Armed rebels have been battling Gadhafi loyalists for more than two months in an attempt to oust Libya’s ruler of nearly 42 years. Standing outside an improvised triage unit in a tent in the parking lot, rebel fighter Abdel-Aziz Bilhaj, 22, welcomed the attack, saying it would make Gadhafi think twice about how he dealt with his people.

“It could make him more willing to back down on certain parts of his plan,” Bilhaj said.

Medic Abdel-Monem Ibsheir considered the strike a form of justice.

“Gadhafi was not far away, meaning he’s not safe,” he said as occasional explosions could be heard throughout the city. “It’s just like our children getting hit here. Now his children are getting hit there.”

Eleven dead had reached the hospital morgue by midnight, including two brothers, ages 11 and 16. Two more had arrived by 1:30 a.m., and four more at another hospital.

On Tuesday, British Defense Minister Liam Fox and U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates told reporters at the Pentagon that NATO planes were not targeting Gadhafi specifically but would continue to attack his command centers.

Ibrahim said Seif al-Arab had studied at a German university but had not yet completed his studies.

Seif al-Arab “was playing and talking with his father and mother and his nieces and nephews and other visitors when he was attacked for no crimes committed,” Ibrahim said.

Journalists taken to the walled complex of one-story buildings in a residential Tripoli neighborhood saw heavy bomb damage. The blast had torn down the ceiling of one building and left a huge pile of rubble and twisted metal on the ground.

Dust and smoke rose from the rubble, which included household items including smashed toilet bowls, bathroom sinks and furniture among the broken walls and demolished floors. The mirror of a dressing table remained intact in the middle of a bedroom although the walls around it were demolished.

Libyans called in to a late-night television talk show to proclaim Seif al-Arab a martyr. A live shot from Gadhafi’s compound Bab al-Aziziya showed dozens dancing, chanting pro-Gadhafi slogans, waving green flags and clapping in unison.

The government spokesman said the airstrike was an attempt to “assassinate the leader of this country,” which he said violated international law.

Heavy bursts of gunfire were heard in Tripoli after the attack.

Gadhafi had seven sons and one daughter. The Libyan leader also had an adopted daughter who was killed in a 1986 U.S. airstrike on his Bab al-Aziziya residential compound, which was retaliation for the bombing attack on a German disco in which two U.S. servicemen were killed. The U.S. at the time blamed Libya for the disco blast.

Seif’s mother is Safiya Farkash, Gadhafi’s second wife and a former nurse.

The fatal airstrike came just hours after Gadhafi called for a mutual cease-fire and negotiations with NATO powers to end a six-week bombing campaign.

In a rambling pre-dawn speech Saturday, Gadhafi said “the door to peace is open.”

“You are the aggressors. We will negotiate with you. Come, France, Italy, U.K., America, come to negotiate with us. Why are you attacking us?” he asked.

He also railed against foreign intervention, saying Libyans have the right to choose their own political system, but not under the threat of NATO bombings.

In Brussels, a NATO official said before Saturday’s fatal strike that the alliance needed “to see not words but actions,” and vowed the alliance would keep up the pressure until the U.N. Security Council mandate on Libya is fulfilled. NATO has promised to continue operations until all attacks and threats against civilians have ceased, all of Gadhafi’s forces have returned to bases and full humanitarian access is granted.

Rebel leaders have said they will only lay down their arms and begin talks after Gadhafi and his sons step aside. Gadhafi has repeatedly refused to resign.

“We don’t believe that there is a solution that includes him or any member of his family. So it is well past any discussions. The only solution is for him to depart,” rebel spokesman Jalal al-Galal said.

By KARIN LAUB, Associated Press. Ben Hubbard in Misrata, Libya, Hadeel al-Shalchi in Cairo and Slobodan Lekic in Brussels contributed to this report.

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April 24th, 2011 by Oman Views

CAMP ASHRAF, Iraq – Iraq security forces raided the settlement of an Iranian exile group that the Shiite-led government has long tried to oust and at least 10 people were killed in the pre-dawn clashes Friday, officials said.

The People’s Mujahedeen Organization of Iran exiles jeer Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki as a puppet of Tehran, partly because the Shiite premier has sought to close their camp in Iraq’s northeast Diyala province over their ties to former Sunni dictator Saddam Hussein.

Tensions boiled over this week when the Iraqi army moved new troops near Camp Ashraf, prompting its residents to pelt soldiers with stones and throw themselves in front of military trucks. About an hour before dawn Friday, the army stormed the camp, hurling smoke bombs at a crowd of about 100 masked people and chasing them with Humvees.

The exiles claimed 31 residents were killed, while the Iraqi general who ordered the raid denied that anybody died. U.S. and U.N. observers were unable to independently verify any casualties.

But two officials at the hospital in Baqouba, Diyala’s capital, said 10 exiles were killed and 39 wounded in the clashes. Additionally, five Iraqi soldiers and one policeman also were injured, according to the officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information.

Iraqi Lt. Gen. Ali Ghaidan said he ordered the crackdown after his troops were provoked. But signaling the government’s intent to edge out the exiles, Ghaidan also said the military seized land in Ashraf’s northeast corner and intends to give it to nearby Iraqi farmers.

“Everything is normal inside the camp,” Ghaidan said in an interview Friday afternoon. “Our troops are outside, and we are not near the residential areas. Everything is stable.”

Ashraf resident Shahriar Kia said that was not true and described an ongoing standoff between the exiles and soldiers on either end of the camp’s main street.

“They have attacked our homes and looted them,” Kia said. “People are standing out on the street to protect their homes.”

The People’s Mujahedeen, which seeks the overthrow of Tehran’s clerical rulers, has been labeled everything from a cult to a terrorist organization – although one that has provided the U.S. with intelligence on Iran. The group says it renounced violence in 2001, after carrying out bloody bombings and assassinations in Iran in the 1980s.

Also known by its Farsi name the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, the group is the militant wing of the Paris-based National Council of Resistance of Iran. The U.S. considers it a terrorist organization although the European Union removed it from its terror list two years ago.

The camp, a 30-square-mile compound in the desert, is located about 60 miles (95 kilometers) northeast of Baghdad. The exiles have built it into an oasis of well-kept gardens, water fountains and palm trees along marked-out streets, where the residents live in barracks-like housing segregated by sex.

Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said security forces “did not use weapons” during the raid. He said the seized land was located outside the camp, and was merely being returned to the farmers who had owned it before the exiles moved in during Saddam’s regime.

“It is their land and we are allowing them to use it,” al-Dabbagh said.

Camp residents described a dire picture of the melee, and supplied a six-minute video purportedly taken early Friday that showed military Humvees flying the Iraqi flag chasing down about 100 stone-throwing masked people in an open area.

At least one person in the crowd was seen hit by a Humvee, and an Iraqi soldier was seen firing from his AK-47 machine gun although his target was not clear. The video also shows at least six people lying on the ground, and a dozen of blood-soaked men being treated by doctors.

“This is a massacre, a catastrophe,” said Behzad Saffari, who has lived at Ashraf for nine years and acts as the camp’s legal adviser.

Iraqi troops refused to let an Associated Press reporter near where the clashes took place, and ordered him out of the camp after briefly being allowed in through the main gate. Security forces also blocked public access to the Baqouba hospital, although ambulances raced between the camp and the emergency room for much of the day.

A U.S. Army officer at the camp Friday looked very angry when talking to the Iraqi commander at the scene. Asked why, an Iraqi translator accompanying the U.S. officer replied: “Because of the high casualties.”

Ashraf’s 3,400 residents are legally considered “protected persons” under the Geneva Conventions. At a news conference in Rome, the People’s Mujahedeen blasted the U.S. for failing to stop the assault or otherwise intervene despite the protections. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, on a visit to northern Iraq, confirmed that American forces were nearby during the raid and planned to offer medical assistance to the exiles.

But under a 2008 security agreement between Washington and Baghdad, U.S. troops handed off the responsibility protecting Ashraf to the Iraqi government.

“I urge the Iraqi government to show restraint and live up to their commitments to treat Ashraf residents in accordance with Iraqi law and international obligations,” Gates said in Mosul.

By SAAD ABDUL-KADIR and LARA JAKES, Associated Press. Jakes reported from Baghdad. Also contributing: AP Writers Sinan Salaheddin and Bushra Juhi in Baghdad, Robert Burns in Mosul, Iraq, Sameer N. Yacoub in Amman, Jordan, and Alba Tobella in Rome.

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