Russia condemns Libyan arms drop

30 June 2011 Last updated at 14:35 GMT Libyan rebels have been battling government forces for months Russia has strongly criticised France for dropping weapons to Libyan rebels and demanded an explanation from Paris.

"If this is confirmed, it is a very crude violation of UN Security Council resolution 1970," Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

The African Union has also criticised the move, saying it risks causing a "Somalia-sation" of Libya.

The French military says it has dropped arms to Berber tribal fighters in the mountains south-west of the capital.

Mr Lavrov said Russia had formally requested information from France about the move, to check that it "corresponds with reality".

Mr Lavrov is due to meet French counterpart Alain Juppe in Moscow on Friday.

'Somalia-sation'

Moscow abstained from the UN Security Council vote in March that authorised an international mission in Libya to protect civilians.

Russia and China have both criticised the Nato campaign in recent weeks, saying it had gone beyond the remit of UN resolution 1973.

Another resolution, 1970, had imposed an arms embargo on Libya.

But US and UK officials have argued that resolution 1973 could nonetheless allow weapons to be supplied to rebels fighting to topple Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

French officials have said the arms dropped to rebels earlier this month were supplied for the protection of civilians threatened at the time by pro-Gaddafi forces.

The French ambassador to the UN said they only included "self-defence weapons".

France is also said to have been concerned at the stalemate in the Libyan conflict, which began in February.

Libyan rebels have recently been making gains and hope to advance on Tripoli from the existing front line on the other side of the Nafusa mountains about 65km (40 miles) from the capital.

A report in Le Figaro newspaper said the French-supplied weapons included rocket launchers and anti-tank missiles, and that France had not informed its allies about the move.

Earlier, African Union chief Jean Ping listed a number of "problems" linked to France's decision to air-drop weapons to the rebels.

"The risk of civil war, risk of partition of the country, the risk of 'Somalia-sation' of the country, risk of having arms everywhere... with terrorism.

"These risks will concern the neighbouring countries," said Mr Ping, speaking at an African Union summit in Equatorial Guinea.

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France gave Libyan rebels weapons

29 June 2011 Last updated at 15:37 GMT Libyan rebels have been making military gains in the west of the country France has air-dropped weapons to rebels fighting Col Muammar Gaddafi's troops in Western Libya, the French military has confirmed.

Light arms and ammunition were sent to Berber tribal fighters in the Nafusa mountains in early June, it said.

Earlier, a report in Le Figaro newspaper said the arms included rocket launchers and anti-tank missiles.

France, a leading force in the Nato operation in Libya, did not inform its allies about the move, Le Figaro said.

"We began by dropping humanitarian aid: food, water and medical supplies," said Col Thierry Burkhard, spokesman for the French general staff.

"During the operation, the situation for the civilians on the ground worsened. We dropped arms and means of self-defence, mainly ammunition," he told AFP news agency.

He said the arms were "light infantry weapons of the rifle type", dropped over a period of several days "so that civilians would not be massacred".

UN resolutions

The BBC's Christian Fraser in Paris says the statement is likely to bring further criticism from the likes of Russia and China, who believe Nato and its allies have already gone beyond the remit of UN resolution 1973, which authorised international military action in Libya.

The US has argued that resolution 1973 allows countries to provide arms to rebels despite an earlier resolution - 1970 - that imposed an arms embargo on the whole of Libya.

Resolution 1973 authorises "all necessary measures" to protect civilians, "notwithstanding" the arms embargo in resolution 1970.

France played a prominent role in pushing for military intervention in Libya, and French and British planes have led the air strikes over the country that began in late March.

Qatar, which has supported the Nato-led operation in Libya, has been supplying arms to rebels mainly through their eastern stronghold in the city of Benghazi.

France, the UK and Italy announced in April that they were sending military advisers to Benghazi.

'Light tanks'

The decision to drop arms to the Libyan rebels was reportedly taken following a meeting in mid-April between French President Nicolas Sarkozy and the Chief of Staff of the Libyan rebels, Gen Abdelfatah Younis.

France is said to have been concerned at the stalemate in a conflict between the rebels and pro-Gaddafi forces that started in February.

The report in Le Figaro suggested that 40 tonnes of weapons were sent to western Libya, including "a few light tanks" that were smuggled in across the Tunisian border.

The newspaper also reported that it had seen a confidential defence map showing two makeshift airstrips in rebel-held towns, built to receive small aircraft from the Gulf that can move French arms closer to the front.

The rebels have recently been edging forward in Libya's north-west, and are hoping to push on to Tripoli from the frontline, currently on the other side of the Nafusa mountains and about 65km (40 miles) from the capital.

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