NATO launches arms embargo

(BRUSSELS2) NATO Secretary General AF Rasmussen has just announced it. " NATO has decided to launch an operation to enforce the embargo against Libya. All Allies are committed to fulfilling their responsibilities under the UN resolution to end the intolerable violence against Libyan civilians. »

It is the commander of NATO operations, Admiral Jim Stavridis, who will be in charge of activating NATO ships and planes in the central Mediterranean. " They will carry out monitoring, reporting and, if necessary, may interdict vessels suspected of carrying illicit weapons or mercenaries. “This will be done in” close coordination with regional and shipping organizations ».

At the same time, he said, NATO has developed " plans to help enforce the no-fly zone » and make our contribution, « if necessary, in a clearly defined manner, to the broad international effort to protect the people of Libya from the violence of the Gaddafi regime ».

A decision which is in line with a certain division of tasks, defined by the 27 Foreign Ministers of the European Union, Monday. Read : Towards a sharing of roles between NATO and the EU on Libya