“There will be no mercy. Our troops will be coming to Benghazi tonight.”
Perhaps it was the murderous threat contained within Gaddafi’s latest radio
message that shocked the United Nations into action today — because shocked into action they have been. After sweating and toiling over the precise formulation of a resolution on Libya,
the UN Security Council finally reached the voting stage this evening. And it has now voted 10-0 in favour of member states taking “all necessary measures … to protect civilian and
populated areas, including Benghazi, while excluding an occupation force.” Brazil, India, China, Russia and — staggeringly — Germany all abstained.
What this means, in practice, is a no-fly zone — and more. We are likely to see bombing raids on Gaddafi’s air defences, and perhaps on the serpentine column of troops
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