The African Union (AU) has condemned France after it admitted air-dropping weapons to Libyan rebels fighting to oust Col. Muammar Qaddafi.
AU Commission chairman Juan Ping made the criticism on the eve of a two-day summit of African Union leaders trying to mediate an end to the four-month conflict as rebel fighters backed by NATO strikes advance on Tripoli.
“What worries us is not who is giving what,” Mr. Ping said in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, where the summit began on Thursday. “It is simply that these weapons are being given by all parties to all the other parties. These weapons are already reaching Al Qaeda, drug dealers and traffickers. They will be used to destabilize African states and to kidnap tourists for whom you pay ransom,” he said.
AU Commission chairman Juan Ping made the criticism on the eve of a two-day summit of African Union leaders trying to mediate an end to the four-month conflict as rebel fighters backed by NATO strikes advance on Tripoli.
“What worries us is not who is giving what,” Mr. Ping said in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, where the summit began on Thursday. “It is simply that these weapons are being given by all parties to all the other parties. These weapons are already reaching Al Qaeda, drug dealers and traffickers. They will be used to destabilize African states and to kidnap tourists for whom you pay ransom,” he said.
The arms deliveries, many worry, could backfire on the governments who supply them.
“If these arms are found in the desert it is a problem for everybody, for you Westerners as well. The people who are being kidnapped by terrorists are Westerners,” said Mr. Ping.
France acknowledged on Wednesday it has been air-dropping weapons to Berber tribal fighters southwest of the Libyan capital, insisting the move was not in breach of a UN arms embargo because they were mainly light firearms to help civilians protect themselves.
Col. Thierry Burkhard, spokesman for the French general staff, told AFP that France had become aware in early June that rebel-held Berber villages in the Nafusa mountains had come under pressure from Qaddafi loyalists after joining the revolt against the leader’s four-decade rule.
“We began by dropping humanitarian aid: food, water and medical supplies,” he said. “During the operation, the situation for the civilians on the ground worsened. We dropped arms and means of self-defense, mainly ammunition.”
Colonel Burkhard described the arms as “light infantry weapons of the rifle type” and said the drops were carried out over several days “so that civilians would not be massacred.”
The French Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Gerard Araud, said his country’s delivery of arms to the rebels was not in breach of a Security Council resolution that established an arms embargo to Libya.
“We decided to provide self-defense weapons to the civilian populations because we considered these populations were under threat,” Mr. Araud told reporters.
France’s Le Figaro daily, citing a secret intelligence memo and well-placed officials, said the weapons were meant to help rebels encircle Tripoli and encourage a popular revolt in the city itself.
The crates contained assault rifles, machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, it said, along with European-made Milan anti-tank missiles.
Britain’s minister for international security strategy, Gerald Howarth, said London would not emulate France’s move because that would raise “quite a few issues,” including with the UN resolution that authorized military action in Libya.
The Security Council adopted Resolution 1970 in February 2011, and Resolution 1973 in March on the conflict in Libya. These resolutions imposed severe sanctions on the Qaddafi regime, notably the embargo of arms supplies to Libya. The resolutions also demanded the protection of civilian populations.
Article 4 of Resolution 1973 specified that exceptions to the arms embargo could be allowed if in the interest of protecting civilians.
“We do think the United Nations resolutions allow, in certain limited circumstances, defensive weapons to be provided, but the UK is not engaged in that. Other countries will interpret the resolution in their own way,” said Mr. Howarth.
France has taken a leading role in organizing international support for the uprising against Colonel Qaddafi’s rule, and French and British jets are spearheading the NATO-led air campaign targeting his forces.
“If these arms are found in the desert it is a problem for everybody, for you Westerners as well. The people who are being kidnapped by terrorists are Westerners,” said Mr. Ping.
France acknowledged on Wednesday it has been air-dropping weapons to Berber tribal fighters southwest of the Libyan capital, insisting the move was not in breach of a UN arms embargo because they were mainly light firearms to help civilians protect themselves.
Col. Thierry Burkhard, spokesman for the French general staff, told AFP that France had become aware in early June that rebel-held Berber villages in the Nafusa mountains had come under pressure from Qaddafi loyalists after joining the revolt against the leader’s four-decade rule.
“We began by dropping humanitarian aid: food, water and medical supplies,” he said. “During the operation, the situation for the civilians on the ground worsened. We dropped arms and means of self-defense, mainly ammunition.”
Colonel Burkhard described the arms as “light infantry weapons of the rifle type” and said the drops were carried out over several days “so that civilians would not be massacred.”
The French Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Gerard Araud, said his country’s delivery of arms to the rebels was not in breach of a Security Council resolution that established an arms embargo to Libya.
“We decided to provide self-defense weapons to the civilian populations because we considered these populations were under threat,” Mr. Araud told reporters.
France’s Le Figaro daily, citing a secret intelligence memo and well-placed officials, said the weapons were meant to help rebels encircle Tripoli and encourage a popular revolt in the city itself.
The crates contained assault rifles, machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, it said, along with European-made Milan anti-tank missiles.
Britain’s minister for international security strategy, Gerald Howarth, said London would not emulate France’s move because that would raise “quite a few issues,” including with the UN resolution that authorized military action in Libya.
The Security Council adopted Resolution 1970 in February 2011, and Resolution 1973 in March on the conflict in Libya. These resolutions imposed severe sanctions on the Qaddafi regime, notably the embargo of arms supplies to Libya. The resolutions also demanded the protection of civilian populations.
Article 4 of Resolution 1973 specified that exceptions to the arms embargo could be allowed if in the interest of protecting civilians.
“We do think the United Nations resolutions allow, in certain limited circumstances, defensive weapons to be provided, but the UK is not engaged in that. Other countries will interpret the resolution in their own way,” said Mr. Howarth.
France has taken a leading role in organizing international support for the uprising against Colonel Qaddafi’s rule, and French and British jets are spearheading the NATO-led air campaign targeting his forces.
AFP
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