England, April 09: Britain has reportedly called on Arab countries to train the revolutionary forces in Libya to hold the cities taken as they move on to the country’s west.
“Senior defense sources” have said the Libyan revolutionary forces were “just driving up the road, and when they see guns drawn they turn round and go back again.”
The number of the revolutionary forces in Libya, who are armed and have military backgrounds, is less than 1,000.
The UN Security Council Resolution 1973, based on which the no-fly zone over Libya was approved, can ease such training and protect civilians by “any means necessary.”
“We have not decided to arm or train the opposition forces, although as the Prime Minister has said our view is that the UN resolution does not necessarily rule out the provision of assistance in certain circumstances,” a spokesperson for Ministry of Defense said.
The MoD said it would change the roles of four Typhoon jets from policing Libya no-fly zone to ground attack missions.
The decision came after the Libyan revolutionary forces complained that NATO troops were failing to protect Misratah, the country’s third largest city.
The top commander of revolutionary forces, Abdelfatah Yunis, accused NATO-led aircraft of doing nothing while Qaddafi troops bombarded civilians in Misratah, 214 kilometers (133 miles) east of Tripoli.
The foreign operations have come under widespread criticism for inflicting casualties and damages to properties of the civilian population in the impoverished North African country.
—_Agencies