Rome, April 26: Italy has announced that it will increase its air power in NATO-led operations against the forces of Libya’s embattled ruler Muammar Gaddafi.
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said in a Monday statement that Rome, which has been playing a restricted role in NATO-led Libya mission, will allow its air force to bomb selected military targets, the Associated Press reported.
Italian air force has so far been involved mainly in enforcing a no-fly zone and an arms embargo on troubled Libya.
Berlusconi informed US President Barack Obama of his government’s decision in a telephone conversation, and is also expected to call other European leaders.
Italy made the decision a day after NATO warplanes targeted Libyan capital Tripoli, killing at least three people and injuring more than 45.
Earlier on Monday, three loud blasts were reportedly heard in eastern Tripoli.
The Western coalition unleashed a major air campaign against the Libyan regime forces on March 19 under a UN mandate namely to “protect the Libyan population.”
Dozens of civilians have been killed in crisis-hit Libya since Western coalition forces launched aerial attacks on the North African nation.
The United States, France and Britain say they will not stop their military operation until beleaguered Gaddafi is removed from power.
Libyan revolutionary forces have frequently criticized NATO for its failure to prevent the killing of civilians by Gaddafi troops.
Revolutionaries have threatened to ask the United Nations Security Council to suspend the NATO mission in Libya if the military alliance fails to do “its work properly.”
——-Agencies