NATO's 28 ambassadors gathered Sunday to vote on assuming command of military operations against Muammar Gaddafi, after days of difficult negotiations slowed by objections from France and Türkiye. The alliance was expected to approve the transfer, possibly activating immediate engagement.
The proposed three-month operational plan limits the mission strictly to protecting civilians and authorizes no support for the armed rebellion. Canadian Lt. Gen. Charles Bouchard, leading operations from Naples, would be permitted to strike Gaddafi armor only to shield civilians or in self-defense.
Türkiye, the alliance's only predominantly Muslim member, had criticized the breadth of coalition air strikes before endorsing the no-fly zone last week and pledging warships to help enforce the arms embargo. Qatar and the UAE were the only Arab states to commit combat aircraft; six UAE F-16s arrived at an Italian base Sunday.
France resisted placing the campaign under the NATO banner, with President Nicolas Sarkozy warning that doing so would benefit Gaddafi. The dispute is set to continue at a contact-group conference in London on Tuesday, where foreign ministers from more than 35 countries and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will meet to weigh diplomatic options.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in March 2011, in its own words.