Libya no-fly zone can happen – PM

David Cameron: “Every day Gaddafi is brutalising his own people”

Imposing a no-fly zone over Libya is “perfectly deliverable”, UK Prime Minister David Cameron has said.

Mr Cameron, who attended an EU meeting on the country’s crisis on Friday, said his fellow leaders were “crystal clear” Col Muammar Gaddafi should go.

He told MPs the Libyan leader was “brutalising” his people and there must be “no let-up of pressure”.

But Labour leader Ed Miliband said the government had to “translate the ‘no-fly zone’ phrase into a plan”.

Britain and France are spearheading moves to prevent further air attacks on rebels by forces loyal to Col Gaddafi.

But other countries are more cautious about the idea of any military intervention in Libya.

In a statement to the Commons, Mr Cameron said there had been “progress” at the European Council.

He added that there “should be tougher measures against [foreign] mercenaries [employed by the Gaddafi regime to fight rebels] and the states from which they come”.

Mr Cameron said Col Gaddafi was “brutalising his own people and that “with time of the essence, there should be no let-up of pressure on this regime.

“We’ve seen the uprising of a people against a brutal dictator and it will send a bad signal if their aspirations are crushed,” he said.

“Do we want a failed pariah state festering on Europe’s border? Of course we do not want that.”

The prime minister also said: “Work has been done within the UK to look at options… [A no-fly zone is] perfectly deliverable… [if it is] as widely supported as possible.”

But Mr Miliband said: “It seems to us now that the priority must be to translate the ‘no-fly zone’ phrase into a plan.”

The prime minister’s official spokesman told reporters that no decision on action against Libya was expected when the United Nations Security Council meets later in New York.

He described discussions as “orientational”, with a possible no-fly zone, the freezing of assets and sanctions against countries sending mercenaries to Libya among the measures to be discussed.

Asked about what the government would do if Col Gaddafi were to prevail, the spokesman replied: “Our position is that he shouldn’t.”

Foreign ministers from the Group of Eight major world powers are meeting in Paris to consider whether to back calls for a no-fly zone over Libya.

The Arab League supports a UN mandate but Russia has so far opposed military intervention and the US, Italy and Germany have also voiced reservations.

The UN Security Council is expected to consult on the proposal later.

In the Commons, Mr Cameron announced that more than 600 UK citizens had been evacuated from Libya since the crisis began, with around 250 still there.

Meanwhile, increased sanctions meant the value of Libyan assets frozen in the UK had risen from £2bn to £12bn.

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