President Barack Obama consulted the leaders of France, Britain and Italy on Thursday on immediate steps to end the Libyan crisis, as Washington kept all options open, including sanctions and military action, to stem the chaos. The United States is working to build international consensus for action against Colonel Muammar Gadhafi's government, which Obama has condemned for "outrageous" violence against its people. Many of the leaders who were in Paris had called for Gadhafi to quit, and it may be that military intervention will lead to negotiations with the opposition for the dictator and his family to leave. There are warnings of a catastrophic humanitarian emergency as thousands of Libyan asylum seekers fleeing a violent uprising make their way to Europe. Several thousand would-be immigrants crossed the waters from Tunisia last month to the Italian island of Lampedusa, south-east of Sicily. On Thursday around 500 asylum seekers alone landed on the island, which has long been the first port of call for refugees trying to get into Europe from North Africa. The British defense secretary, Liam Fox, said in a statement that Tornado GR4 fast jets flew 3,000 miles from Royal Air Force Station Marham in Norfolk, England, and back. The jets launched Stormshadow missiles, while a Trafalgar submarine launched Tomahawk cruise missiles. U.S. Vice Admiral William Gortney outlined what is being called "Operation Odyssey Dawn" several hours after he said the missiles started hitting more than 20 Libyan sites. "The United States military has and will continue to use our unique capabilities to create the conditions from which we and our partners can best enforce the full measure of the U.N. mandate. Our mission right now is to shape the battle space in such a way that our partners may take the lead in execution," he said. He said Admiral Sam Locklear was leading the operations from the USS Mount Whitney in the Mediterranean Sea. State television said 48 people had died in the strikes, which marked the widest international military effort since the Iraq war. They were aimed at enforcing a U.N.-mandated no-fly zone in support of rebels who have seen early gains reversed by the regime's superior air power and weaponry. In Benghazi, the rebel capital and first city to fall to the uprising that began Feb. 15, people said the international action happened just in time. Libyan government tanks and troops had reached the edges of the city on Saturday. The finalising of military preparations came as Gaddafi's forces closed in on Benghazi and warned that they would target all maritime traffic in the Mediterranean if they are targeted by foreign forces. In a statement broadcast on Libyan television, the defence ministry said: "Any foreign military act against Libya will expose all air and maritime traffic in the Mediterranean sea to danger and civilian and military [facilities] will become targets of Libya's counterattack." "The Mediterranean basin will face danger not just in the short-term, but also in the long-term." Gaddafi has warned Libyan rebels that his forces will invade Benghazi and show no mercy to fighters who resisted them. "No more fear, no more hesitation, the moment of truth has come," the Libyan leader declared, as he warned Benghazi residents that soldiers would search every house in the city and people who had no arms had no reason to fear. Critics accuse the United States of reacting too slowly to Libya's unrest, but analysts say the measured approach reflects Washington's wariness of being seen as acting on its own in a region where many harbor deep suspicions of U.S. motives.
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Information sourced by Denniz Dogany - supplies sent in shipping containers to aid Libyan crisis. Organisers looking for containers for sale need help with food supplies and medicine aid.
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