TRIPOLI, Libya — Fellow Arab and African nations raised the international pressure Friday on Libyan leader Moammar Khadafy, with tiny Qatar flying the Arab world’s first combat missions over his country and the African Union imploring him to move toward democratic elections.
The military operation against Khadafy, which on Friday included airstrikes by British and French jets, remains a U.S.-led operation, though NATO was preparing to assume at least some command and control responsibility within days.
A Libyan government delegation meeting in Ethiopia with African leaders — but not the rebels seeking Khadafy’s ouster — said Khadafy is ready to talk with his opponents and accept political reform, possibly including elections. The delegation also said Libya is committed to a cease-fire that Khadafy’s forces have flouted since the government announced it and blamed the violence on “extremists” and foreign intervention.
NATO named Canadian Lt. Gen. Charles Bouchard to lead its Libyan operation, finalizing what it hopes will be a unified command to oversee military action against the North African nation.
Envoys from NATO’s 28 member countries agreed late Thursday to enforce the no-fly zone over Libya. By Monday, the alliance expects to start doing so, as well as coordinating naval patrols in the Mediterranean to enforce the U.N. arms embargo against Khadafy’s forces. With further approval expected Sunday, NATO will take over the responsibility for bombing Khadafy’s military to protect civilians from attack.
A NATO official said Friday that NATO hopes to launch both operations simultaneously within a couple of days, avoiding the need for dual commands — NATO for the no-fly zone and the U.S. for the airstrikes. The official requested anonymity because of regulations about speaking to the media.
A Qatari fighter jet flew the country’s first sortie alongside a French jet Friday to enforce the no-fly zone, the first non-Western military flight in support of the operation.
“Having our first Arab nation join and start flying with us emphasizes that the world wants the innocent Libyan people protected from the atrocities perpetrated by pro-regime forces,” said U.S. Air Forces Africa Commander Maj. Gen. Margaret Woodward.
Aside from the United Arab Emirates, which has pledged 12 warplanes, the international effort to protect Khadafy’s opponents has no other countries from the Arab League, a 22-member group that was among the driving forces behind the U.N. Security Council decision to impose a no-fly zone over Libya.
The U.N. Security Council authorized the operation to protect Libyan civilians after Khadafy launched attacks against anti-government demonstrators who demanded he step down after 42 years in power.
The rebels claimed late Friday that they had taken the eastern gates of Ajdabiya, although that could not be confirmed.
