Alarm over plans for Libya no-fly zone

US and British moves to consider military action against Muammer Gaddafi in Libya triggered international alarm on Tuesday, with Turkey and Russia opposing the idea and France and Germany expressing deep unease.

With a refugee crisis growing on Libya’s western border after Colonel Gaddafi’s attacks on opposition forces, the US and Britain said they were making contingency plans for a possible no-fly zone over the country. Both made clear there had been no final decisions on such a zone to stop Col Gaddafi from deploying jets and helicopter gunships.

Robert Gates, US defence secretary, said the US was moving two amphibious warships, with about 2,000 marines aboard, through the Suez Canal into the Mediterranean, although he highlighted that they would be for emergency evacuation and relief operations. He noted there was no unanimity within Nato on using military force.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s prime minister, attacked the idea of a no-fly zone, saying that it would be an “absurdity”.

“The Middle East and Africa have been viewed by the west as sources of oil and used as pawns in oil wars for decades,” Mr Erdogan said. “Any type of sanctions or intervention that would punish the Libyan people is unacceptable and would cause massive problems.”

Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, described the idea of imposing limits on Libyan airspace as “superfluous”.

Asked about a no-fly zone, a French government spokesman said: “It’s not a priority. The priority is humanitarian aid; it’s no longer diplomacy.”

Since Turkey is a member of Nato, a no-fly zone would probably have to be launched by a small group of members, rather than the full 28-member alliance. Mr Lavrov’s comments underscore that it would be almost impossible to win backing from the UN Security Council. On Tuesday, the UN General Assembly ousted Libya from its membership of the UN Human Rights Council, although Ven­ezuela denounced the US for “war-mongering mobilisation”.

Debate is also intensifying in Washington on a no-fly zone. General James Mattis, commander of US central command, told Congress it would involve destroying air defences. “It would be a military operation,” he said. “It wouldn’t simply be telling people not to fly airplanes.” Mr Gates added Washington had to consider the possible impact on operations in Afghanistan and the Gulf. Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, said a no-fly zone was “an extraordinarily com­plex operation”.

But Hillary Clinton, US secretary of state, said the idea was under review, arguing that “Libya could become a peaceful democracy or it could face a protracted civil war or it could descend into chaos.”

On the ground, heavy fighting was reported around Zawiya, where opposition fighters were holding off pro-Gaddafi forces’ attempts to regain control of the town, just 50km from Tripoli. Regime forces were reported to be massing near the Tunisian border, from where they could move against coastal towns in the north-west now in the grip of rebels. Pro-Gaddafi forces also reasserted control at border crossings with Tunisia, including that at Dehiba, where they had been absent the day before.

The UN reported tens of thousands of foreigners fleeing unrest along that border. It said its staff were battling to cope with an exodus of 140,000 people into Tunisia and Egypt.

In eastern Libya where the opposition holds sway, Abdullah Shamia, a member of Benghazi’s control committee, said civilians there would welcome a no-fly zone to prevent Col Gad­dafi’s air force from attacking cities and stop him from flying in “mercenaries” from African countries.

Additional reporting by Heba Saleh in Cairo, Tobias Buck in Ras Ajdir, Harvey Morris at the UN and Peggy Hollinger in Paris