Russia’s UN envoy on Monday demanded that there be a thorough investigation into the number of civilians killed in NATO air strikes during its military operations in Libya, which led to the ouster and death of former Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi.
Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin was reacting to news reports about civilian deaths caused by NATO. Reuters reported on Friday that human rights groups estimated that more than 50 civilians were killed by the air strikes, while the New York Times published on Sunday an estimate of between 40 and more than 70.
Churkin told reporters the NATO alliance has so far failed to provide the UN Security Council with details about civilian casualties.
“Unfortunately NATO adopted a pure propaganda stand, claiming zero civilian casualties in Libya, which was completely implausible, first of all, and, secondly, not true,” he said.
Churkin said he would raise the issue in the 15-nation Security Council tomorrow.
“We hope that NATO is going to revisit this entire problem, is going to investigate this matter,” he said, adding that the UN could help with the investigation.
Churkin also criticized UN -Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for suggesting last week that NATO had fully complied with its UN Security Council mandate to protect civilians in Libya.
“We expect the [UN] secretariat to be more careful when it passes its judgement on very important issues which the Security Council is dealing with,” he said.
After abstaining from a March 17 vote on UN Security Council resolution 1973, which authorized UN member states to enforce a no-fly zone and use “all necessary measures” to protect Libyan civilians, Russia and China repeatedly accused NATO of overstepping its mandate by seeking to oust Qaddafi.
NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said last week that the alliance had no figures for civilian casualties that its bombing campaign may have caused, but took “every possible precaution to minimize the possibility of civilian casualties.”
She said it was impossible to entirely remove the risk to civilians, but the alliance “deeply regrets any loss of civilian life and if there is credible evidence it is for the Libyan authorities to take the lead in dealing with any such claim.”
A string of rape and assault allegations against the son of Norway’s future queen have plunged the royal family into its “biggest scandal” ever, wrapping up an annus horribilis for the monarchy. The legal troubles surrounding Marius Borg Hoiby, the 27-year-old son born of a relationship before Norwegian Crown Princess Mette-Marit’s marriage to Norwegian Crown Prince Haakon, have dominated the Scandinavian country’s headlines since August. The tall strapping blond with a “bad boy” look — often photographed in tuxedos, slicked back hair, earrings and tattoos — was arrested in Oslo on Aug. 4 suspected of assaulting his girlfriend the previous night. A photograph
The US deployed a reconnaissance aircraft while Japan and the Philippines sent navy ships in a joint patrol in the disputed South China Sea yesterday, two days after the allied forces condemned actions by China Coast Guard vessels against Philippine patrol ships. The US Indo-Pacific Command said the joint patrol was conducted in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone by allies and partners to “uphold the right to freedom of navigation and overflight “ and “other lawful uses of the sea and international airspace.” Those phrases are used by the US, Japan and the Philippines to oppose China’s increasingly aggressive actions in the
‘GOOD POLITICS’: He is a ‘pragmatic radical’ and has moderated his rhetoric since the height of his radicalism in 2014, a lecturer in contemporary Islam said Abu Mohammed al-Jolani is the leader of the Islamist alliance that spearheaded an offensive that rebels say brought down Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and ended five decades of Baath Party rule in Syria. Al-Jolani heads Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which is rooted in Syria’s branch of al-Qaeda. He is a former extremist who adopted a more moderate posture in order to achieve his goals. Yesterday, as the rebels entered Damascus, he ordered all military forces in the capital not to approach public institutions. Last week, he said the objective of his offensive, which saw city after city fall from government control, was to
‘KAMPAI’: It is said that people in Japan began brewing rice about 2,000 years ago, with a third-century Chinese chronicle describing the Japanese as fond of alcohol Traditional Japanese knowledge and skills used in the production of sake and shochu distilled spirits were approved on Wednesday for addition to UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list, a committee of the UN cultural body said It is believed people in the archipelago began brewing rice in a simple way about two millennia ago, with a third-century Chinese chronicle describing the Japanese as fond of alcohol. By about 1000 AD, the imperial palace had a department to supervise the manufacturing of sake and its use in rituals, the Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association said. The multi-staged brewing techniques still used today are
RSS