Tripoli, May 02: A Russian lawmaker has criticized NATO’s excessive use of force in Libya one day after Muammar Gaddafi’s son and three of his grandchildren died in a NATO raid.
Konstantin Kosachyov, head of the State Duma international committee, told RIA Novosti on Sunday that NATO-led military operation in Libya was focusing on the indiscriminate use of force and was deviating from the conflict resolution within the legal mandate.
The UN Security Council Resolution 1973, adopted on March 17, allowed for NATO forces to stop Gaddafi from using his army and air force against Libyans, calling for democratic changes and an end to his 42 years in power.
On Saturday, Saif al-Arab, the 29-year-old son of Gaddafi and three of Gaddafi’s grandsons were killed after NATO fighter jets pounded the Libyan ruler’s headquarters in Tripoli.
Meanwhile, Kosachyov expressed concern over the ultimate aims of the NATO-led airstrikes, saying NATO’s disproportionate use of force is causing the death of civilians.
“A civil war is raging in Libya and with the interference of a third, external party, the situation is turning into an impasse,” the Russian parliamentarian warned, adding that the Western coalition attacked Gaddafi’s residence in a frantic struggle to extricate itself from the brewing stalemate in the Libyan mission.
Last week, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said he still did not understand the modus operandi behind the NATO operations in Libya, adding that NATO overstepped the remits defined by the UN’s mandate when it dropped guided missiles on Gaddafi’s government offices in Tripoli.
“What kind of no-fly zone is this if they are striking palaces every night? What do they need to bomb palaces for? To drive out the mice?” Putin asked.
He even went as far as suggesting that Libya’s oil resources were a main object for NATO’s interest in Libya.
The remarks come as NATO air attacks have also killed civilians in the eastern opposition-held areas of the country, contradicting its main pledge of protecting people.
NATO has come under intense grilling over its failure to protect civilians and avoid human losses at a time when pro-Gaddafi forces have stepped up their attacks against opposition forces in the Libyan cities along the Mediterranean coast, particularly in the besieged western city of Misratah.
——-Agencies