NATO Secretary General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, said today that it does not agree with arming insurgents fighting against Muammar Gaddafi.
“We are in Libya to protect civilians, not to arm them. As for NATO, and I speak on behalf of NATO, we focus on the implementation of an embargo which involves stopping the entry of weapons into the country”, Rasmussen said during a press conference in Stockholm.
U.S., British and French officials do not exclude this possibility, an option excluded by several members of the international coalition in Libya, such as Norway, Denmark and Belgium.
Anders Fogh Rasmussen is on a one-day visit to Sweden, a country that has announced plans to send eight jet fighters to enforce the no flight zone in Libya.
This is the first time since 1963 when Sweden, which is not a member of, sends jet fighters abroad for a military mission.
NATO took over command of operations in Libya yesterday. Coalition raids continued last night, and Gaddafi’s army on the ground seems to be gaining ground.