Libya: France sends military team to rebel territory
France has sent military advisers into insurgent-held eastern Libya, with Britain and Italy to follow suit, as Tripoli warned foreign boots on the ground would prolong the conflict.
Rebels engage soldiers loyal to Col Gaddafi inside a house in Misurata Photo: AFP/GETTY
5:27PM BST 20 Apr 2011
The developments come as the besieged rebel-held city of Misurata desperately pleaded for help against Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi's forces, who have been pounding it for more than six weeks.
The bombardment continued on Wednesday, with loud explosions heard mid-afternoon in Misurata, where there was heavy overnight fighting and from which thousands of people are trying to flee.
And two French Mirage fighter jets believed to be involved in operations against Libya were forced to make emergency landings in Malta on Wednesday after running out of fuel, civil aviation sources said.
In Paris, France's foreign ministry spokesman said: "France has placed a small number of liaison officers alongside our special envoy to Benghazi who are carrying out a liaison mission with the TNC [Transitional National Council].
"The precise objective is to give the TNC essentially technical, logistical and organisational advice to reinforce the protection of civilians and to improve the distribution of humanitarian and medical aid."
The TNC has so far publicly rejected any suggestion of foreign troops on the ground as Nato warplanes enforce a US-mandated no-fly zone designed to protect civilians.
Government spokesman Francois Baroin said "fewer than 10" officers are involved, and repeated France's position: "We are not envisaging troops on the ground, in any shape or form."
Mr Baroin also said France was not seeking a new UN Security Council action that would give the allies a broader mandate to intervene in Libya.
"We are not taking the initiative to seek a new Security Council resolution. The French position is stable and unchanged on this problem of applying Resolution 1973," he said.
The resolution permitted the use of force to protect Libyan civilians, but explicitly forbids a "foreign occupation force" - a phrase some states interpret as banning any ground intervention at all.
The announcement came the day after Britain said it would send advisers to help organise the stalled rebellion.
William Hague, the foreign secretary, said Britain would send 12 military advisers to eastern Libya, but that they would not be involved in training or arming the rebels, or help in planning operations.
"They're not boots on the ground; this is not British ground combat forces going in ... There is going to be no ground invasion of Libya," Mr Hague said.
Mr Hague said the advisers would help rebels develop organisational structures, communications and logistics and coordinate humanitarian aid and medical supplies.
Ignazio La Russa, the Italian defence minister, said his country would also send 10 army advisers to aid the rebels. "There is a clear understanding that the rebels have to be trained," La Russa said.
France and Britain, which launched the first air strikes on March 19, have struggled to convince allies to intensify the air war while NATO commanders are scrambling to obtain even more ground-attack jets.
Abdelati Laabidi, the Libyan Foreign Minister, said: "we think any military presence is a step backwards, and we are sure that if this bombing stopped and there is a real ceasefire we could have a dialogue among all Libyans about what they want - democracy, political reform, constitution, election.
"This could not be done with what is going on now."
He added that if the bombing stopped, after six months there could be a UN supervised election that would cover "whatever issue is raised by Libyans", and that anything could be on the table.
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