Italy Calls for Halt to Hostilities in Libya, China Recognizes Transitional Council
Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini called on Wednesday for an immediate halt to hostilities in Libya to allow humanitarian aid to reach the population in the strife-torn country.
Frattini called for "an immediate humanitarian suspension of hostilities" in Libya during a speech to the lower house of parliament.
"With regard to NATO, it is fair to ask for increasingly detailed information on results as well as precise guidelines on the dramatic errors involving civilians," he added.
The call came days after NATO acknowledged the accidental killing of civilians in a Tripoli bombing for the first time on Sunday.
NATO admitted to misfiring in an air strike that Libyan authorities said left nine dead, including two toddlers.
The 28-nation alliance also acknowledged striking a military target in the Sorman area west of the capital which the regime said had killed 15 people, including three children.
Frattini had warned in Luxembourg Monday that NATO's accidental killing of civilians in the Libyan air war was endangering the alliance's credibility.
Meanwhile, China said Wednesday it recognized Libya's rebel opposition as an "important dialogue partner", in a further sign of Beijing's willingness to get more deeply engaged in the Libyan conflict.
The praise for Libya's National Transitional Council came in a statement by Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi after talks in Beijing earlier in the day with senior rebel leader Mahmoud Jibril.
"China views it as an important dialogue partner," Yang said of the NTC, which is based in the eastern Libyan rebel stronghold of Benghazi.
The Chinese foreign minister added that since the council was established, its "representative nature has increased daily and it has gradually become an important domestic political force".
Beijing consistently opposes moves deemed to interfere in the affairs of other countries.
But it has held a number of meetings with Libyan rebels in recent weeks in an apparent sign that it wants to help bring about a resolution of the conflict in the oil-rich North African state, where it has sizeable economic interests.
The statement by Yang, posted on his ministry's website, quoted Jibril as saying the transitional council pledged to protect those interests.
The NTC "appreciates the just position of China on the Libyan issue and the active role that China has played in resolving the Libyan crisis," he was quoted saying.
"(We) pledge to adopt the needed measures to safeguard the assets of Chinese personnel and enterprises in the areas under (our) control."
Until recently, Beijing had maintained its long-standing policy of non-interference and public neutrality on the conflict in Libya, calling multiple times for a peaceful end to the popular uprising.
In March, China and fellow permanent U.N. Security Council member Russia both abstained from the vote that gave the go-ahead for international military action against the regime of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.
China has since repeatedly called for a ceasefire, speaking of its concerns that the NATO-led bombing in Libya was overstepping the Council resolution authorizing "humanitarian" intervention in the conflict.
Gadhafi's forces are embroiled in a battle with rebels looking to put an end to his more than four decades ruling Libya.
Beijing mounted a massive land, sea and air operation to evacuate nearly 36,000 of its nationals -- most of them working in the rail, oil and telecom sectors -- from Libya after the fighting broke out in February.
Source: Agence France Presse
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