BENGHAZI - HELP IS ON THE WAY - Europe And Its Allies Ready To Enforce UN No-Fly-Zone Libya And Remove Gaddafi From Power

World leaders met today in a Paris summit hosted by President Sarkozy of France that could be the final step before immediate European military action against Moammar Gadhafi’s forces in Libya.
                                                                                              
Eurofighters patrolling Europe’s southern perimeter

Unfortunately the incursion into Benghazi and other cities by Gadhafi’s forces could vastly complicate any international intervention, by allowing the troops to mingle in with the
population — making air-strikes against them difficult. In the meantime six Danish fighter jets landed at the naval air station in Sigonella, Sicily, on Saturday joining other fighter jets from Europe.. Danish air force spokesman Lars Skjoldan said they would be ready for operation in Libya by Sunday. Italy has offered the use of seven air and navy bases already housing U.S., NATO and Italian forces. Sigonella’s size and close proximity to Libya makes it a key staging point.

Surveillance AWACS planes flying off the Libyan coast are already providing 24-hour coverage of the situation in the air and on the battlefields. Analysts said no-fly zone aircraft would be flying from military bases such as in Sigonella, Sicily, Aviano in northern Italy, Istres in southern France, and Ventiseri-Solenzara in Corsica. Germany has supported U.N. measures for stricter sanctions against the regime of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, but abstained on the vote about military intervention. Germany has, however, committed radar expertise and logistic support.

Spain, which already has a patrol boat and a submarine stationed off the coast of Libya, offered NATO two air-force bases on Friday in the south of the country for any military operation against the north African country. 

Alliance military planners said they could deploy dozens of fighter-bombers, tankers, air surveillance aircraft, and drones to a string of air bases along Europe’s southern perimeter. They would serve as launching points for patrols over Libya. Officials said an “execute order’’ could launch the operation as early as this weekend. What worries military planners, however, are Libya’s plentiful antiaircraft guns and light, short-range shoulder-launched missiles — systems which proved very effective against NATO aircraft during the Kosovo war, said a diplomat who asked not to be identified.

In contrast, European military planners say the Alliance has 200 to 300 modern jets that could be quickly deployed to Libya from bases stretching from Gibraltar to Greece, and from French and British carriers in the Mediterranean Sea. These would include top-of-the-line Eurofighter Typhoons, used by British, Italian, and Spanish air forces. Also available are the formidable French Dassault Rafale fighters.

As one Eurofighter jet pilot based at the Sigonella Airforce base in Italy said: "Hang in there Benghazi, help is on the way".

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Libyan rebels in Benghazi celebrate UN's historic no-fly zone vote

Shortly before midnight, the streets of Libya's de facto rebel capital, Benghazi, were quiet, nearly deserted.
A few minutes after midnight, tracer bullets and celebratory machine-gun fire were racing into the air from every direction and residents piled into their cars for a massive street party.

In between, the United Nations Security Council voted by 10-0 to not only impose a no-fly zone over eastern Libya but to allow for “all necessary measures” short of an occupation to protect the country’s civilians from Col. Muammar Qaddafi, the dictator who’s ruled Libya for nearly 42 years.

For more: Libyan rebels in Benghazi celebrate UN's historic no-fly zone vote - CSMonitor.com

Libya: Benghazi under attack - while United Nations sits on its hands

US ambassador Susan Rice said a no-fly zone would only bring limited help. She hoped for an early vote on a draft.

Russia expressed concern at some of the implications of the proposals and put forward a counter-resolution. Forces loyal to Col Gaddafi are taking ground from rebels, who say they fear "genocide" without swift UN action.

On Wednesday, the International Committee of the Red Cross withdrew from the rebel-held city of Benghazi, in eastern Libya, saying it feared an imminent attack by Col Gaddafi's forces.

For more: BBC News - Libya: US urges tough United Nations resolution

Libya: Benghazi falls to revolution as troops defect

Libyan army unit members in Benghazi told residents they had defected and "liberated" Libya’s second city from troops supporting veteran leader Muammar Gaddafi. Mohamed al-Mana, a local lawyer told Reuters that members of the “Thunderbolt” squad had arrived at the hospital with soldiers wounded in clashes with Gaddafi’s personal guard. “They are now saying that they have overpowered the Praetorian Guard and that they have joined the people’s revolt,” al-Mana reported by telephone.

In Brussels, the Hungarian EU presidency said Libya had told the European Union it would stop cooperation with the bloc in stemming illegal migration to Europe if the EU continues to encourage pro-democracy protests in the country. Foreign reaction to the unrest in Libya, a major energy producer with significant investment from Britain's BP Plc, Exxon of the United States and Italy's ENI among others, has so far been muted.

Benghazi, 620 miles east of Tripoli, has always been a bastion of opposition to Gaddafi's 40-year regime, with residents complaining they have seen little of Libya's wealth from the largest oil riches in Africa.

A son of the Libyan leader, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, went on TV early Monday morning promising a program of reforms after bloody protests against his father's rule reached the capital Tripoli.

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