Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov yesterday warned against a Western ground operation in Libya, saying it would be an “extremely risky” action with unpredictable consequences.
Speaking in the Slovenian capital Ljubljana, Lavrov said that Russia was worried by signs of a move towards a ground conflict involving Western forces in Libya.
“We consider such steps to be extremely risky and fraught with unpredictable consequences,” he said, quoted by Russian news agencies.
Rebel leaders have pleaded for foreign soldiers to help them battle Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi’s forces, who have been pounding Misrata for more than six weeks, in fighting which a doctor said had claimed at least 1,000 lives.
France, Italy and Britain have said they would send military personnel to insurgent-held eastern Libya, but only to advise the rebels on technical, logistical and organizational matters.
US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Wednesday that the US would not send military advisers.
However, a senior US diplomat told lawmakers, in a letter obtained by AFP on Wednesday, that US President Barack Obama’s administration plans to provide the rebels with up to US$25 million in urgent, non-lethal aid.
Clinton insisted the equipment was coming from US government stock, saying: “There are no new purchases, this is not a blank check.”
Meanwhile, a rebel leader claims that opposition forces have taken control of a post on the Tunisian border near a former rebel-held town.
The reported capture of the Dhuheiba border crossing could open important channels to the nearby desert town of Nalut, about 240km southwest of Tripoli.
The town was in the hands of anti-government forces last month before Libyan troops moved in.
The rebel leader, Shaban Abu Sitta, says the border post was taken yesterday after three days of intense battles with government soldiers outside Nalut.
The claim could not be independently verified.
In other developments, NATO warned civilians to stand clear of its bombing blitz on Qaddafi’s troops, as Libyan rebels called for “major” air strikes.
NATO’s warning came as Libyan official media reported seven civilians killed and 18 wounded in an alliance air raid that targeted the southwestern Tripoli suburb of Khellat Al-Ferjan late on Wednesday.
“Our planners and pilots go to very great lengths to ensure we do all we can to reduce the risk to civilians when we attack targets, but the risk cannot be reduced to zero,” the general in charge of NATO’s operations said in a statement from Brussels.
“Civilians can assist NATO by distancing themselves from Qaddafi regime forces and equipment whenever possible,” Lieutenant-General Charles Bouchard said.
“Doing this will allow NATO to strike those forces and equipment with greater success and with the minimum risk to civilians,” the statement said.
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