France admits to arming besieged Libyans
PARIS -- France acknowledged Wednesday that it airlifted weapons to Libyan civilians fighting Moammar Gadhafi's forces in a besieged mountain region south of Tripoli, becoming the first NATO country to do so in a major escalation in the international campaign.
The bold move was likely to draw criticism from countries leery of the allied use of force in Libya's civil war -- like China and Russia.
The deliveries of guns, rocket-propelled grenades and munitions took place in early June in the western Nafusa mountains, when Gadhafi's troops had encircled civilians and his government refused a United Nations request for a pause in the fighting, French military spokesman Col. Thierry Burkhard said.
The weapons were parachuted in by a military transport plane, he said.
The impact of the airlifted weapons wasn't immediately clear. But in recent days -- since the delivery -- rebels in the mountains claimed to have advanced to the town of Bir al-Ghanam, about 50 miles from Tripoli. -- AP
'A million years isn't enough' NewsdayTV goes behind the scenes of the day Rex Heuermann was sentenced for the Gilgo killings.
'A million years isn't enough' NewsdayTV goes behind the scenes of the day Rex Heuermann was sentenced for the Gilgo killings.
