20110318
Reuters
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Libya has closed its air space to all traffic, according to European air traffic control organisation Eurocontrol, a move that may anticipate the U.N.'s imposition of a no-fly zone over Libya.

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".

"That is the only information we have at this time," said a spokeswoman for Eurocontrol. "It is information passed onto us from Maltese authorities."

The United Nations Security Council voted on Thursday to impose a no-fly zone over Libya and to provide help for Libyan rebels fighting to overthrow Muammar Gaddafi.

The decision is expected to involve air operations by Britain, France and the United States in the coming hours.

Libyan fighter planes continue to carry out attacks in eastern Libya, targeting rebels in the city of Misrata and Benghazi, Libya's second largest city and a stronghold of the rebel movement.

Eurocontrol, set up in 1960, is responsible for monitoring air navigation across 39 European countries.