[ 2011-06-20 ]

Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Kaim said Nato had deliberately targeted civilian houses

Nato admits Tripoli target error
Nato has admitted "a weapons systems failure" may
have led to civilian casualties in Sunday
morning's air strike in the Libyan capital,
Tripoli.

The alliance said the intended target was a
missile site, but "it appears that one weapon" did
not hit it.

The Libyan government earlier said Nato had bombed
a residential area, killing nine civilians,
including two babies.

Meanwhile, rebel leaders said their administration
had run out of money as donors' pledges had not
materialised.

They told a news conference in the eastern city of
Benghazi that they were still waiting for funds
that should have been deposited by last week.

'Family killed'

Nato is enforcing a UN resolution to protect
civilians in Libya.

But on Sunday evening, the commander of operation
Unified Protector, Lt Gen Charles Bouchard, said:
"Nato regrets the loss of innocent civilian lives
and takes great care in conducting strikes against
a regime determined to use violence against its
own citizens.

"Although we are still determining the specifics
of this event, indications are that a weapons
system failure may have caused this incident."

The statement said that more than 11,500 sorties
had already been conducted and "every mission is
planned and executed with tremendous care to avoid
civilian casualties".

Nato later released a video statement.

The BBC's Jeremy Bowen in Tripoli says the
incident could prompt questions about what Nato is
achieving in Libya - not least by Nato members who
never agreed with the operation.

Sunday's attack, in one of the capital's poorer
neighbourhoods, happened shortly after midnight,
Libyan officials say.

They say that nine people were killed, including
two babies, and another 18 people injured. It is
not possible to verify this claim independently.

Our correspondent, who was taken to the site by
government officials, saw two bodies being removed
from the rubble.

Scores of men were working alongside the emergency
services, pulling at sections of rubble and
looking for bodies.

Our correspondent was then taken to a Tripoli
hospital where he was shown the bodies of two men,
a woman and two babies, who government officials
said had been killed in the strike.


Rapidly shifting lines

Libyan Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Kaim said
the incident represented a "deliberate targeting
of civilian houses".

The incident came shortly after Nato "regretted
any possible loss of life" from an accidental air
strike on a rebel column near the oil refinery
town of Brega on Thursday.

A rebel spokesman said it was to Nato's credit
that it had admitted that mistake.

Nato's mission - to enforce a no-fly zone over
Libya to protect civilians using "all necessary
measures" short of a ground invasion - began in
March in response to Col Muammar Gaddafi's violent
response to a popular uprising.

The intervention was mandated by the UN, and led
by France, Britain and the US until the end of
March, when Nato took over.

Having initially been given 90 days - which would
have run out on 27 June - the mission has been
extended for a further 90 days.

Rebel finances

The rebels control a third of Libya in the east
and pockets in the west, including Misrata,
although Tripoli remains under government
control.

On Sunday, senior officials from the rebel
Transitional National Council (TNC) issued an
urgent plea for foreign financial aid.

Despite having won promises of assistance from
their Western and Arab supporters, they have yet
to receive any money, they said.

They believe they need more than $3bn (£1.9bn) to
cover salaries and other needs in the next six
months.

So far the TNC has paid salaries and met other
costs by drawing on whatever money was left in the
Benghazi branch of Libya's central bank.

But now those coffers are empty, rebel strategic
adviser Shamsuddin Abdul Mullah the BBC's Bridget
Kendall in Benghazi.

Mr Abdul Mullah said they still hoped the delay
was temporary, but that it was becoming
increasingly hard to explain.

Cash was needed urgently to buy medical supplies
for the frontline, as well as to avoid popular
frustration with a situation that was becoming
increasingly dire, he added.

Source - BBC

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