20110324 presstv French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe says that US-led air strikes against Libya would continue as long as necessary, describing them as a “success”.
"We will continue with the airstrikes," AFP quoted Juppe as telling RTL radio on Thursday.
He further pointed out that the strikes were a "success" and would "continue as long as necessary,” denying reports that the airstrikes had killed civilians.
Juppe said that the air raids were aimed at protecting Libya's civilian population from attacks by forces loyal to Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi, adding that the strikes were "only targeting military sites and nothing else."
Dozens of civilians have already been killed in Libya since the US, Britain, France and some other Western countries initiated their attacks on the North African country.
Despite the US saying that it seeks to stop the Libyan regime's forces from attacking civilians, US-led military operations in Libya have received negative responses from different countries and also parties within the United States.
Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa on Monday criticized the US-led airstrikes on crisis-hit Libya and said the bombardments violated a UN Security Council resolution adopted to protect the Libyan civilians.
"What is happening in Libya differs from the aim of imposing a no-fly zone, and what we want is the protection of civilians and not the bombardment of more civilians," Moussa said at a joint press conference with UN Chief Ban Ki-moon.
The UN Security Council adopted a resolution to impose a no-fly zone over Libya, authorizing the use of force to protect civilians against Gaddafi's troops.
“This is unacceptable. The Security Council has an authority and bears responsibility in this matter -- so we gave this matter over to the Security Council as the authority for international peace and security and for this reason we requested a resolution and supported this resolution," Moussa noted.
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