Kwa kile wanachokiita "conducting airstrikes against military targets," Ndege za NATO zimeangusha mabomu kwa mara nyingine tena katika makazi wanayoishi raia siku ya Jumapili asubuhi na kuuwa watu 8 na wengine 18 Kujeruhiwa
kwa habari zaidi nanukuu
NATO investigates: Libya blames NATO for airstrike on apartment building - latimes.com
Reporting from Tripoli, Libya
The Western alliance leading the air campaign over Libya said Sunday it was investigating allegations by the Libyan government that an airstrike had destroyed an apartment building in a densely populated Tripoli neighborhood, killing nine people and injuring 18 others.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization confirmed that its planes were operating above Tripoli at the time of the alleged attack, early Sunday morning. NATO was "conducting airstrikes against military targets," Wing Commander Mike Bracken, spokesman for the operation, said in a statement issued in Naples, the headquarters of the air effort.
"We take all such reports very seriously, and we're looking into the matter," Bracken said of the Libyan government's allegations.
Photos: Libyan apartment bombing
Libyan officials say the incident confirms their contention that the Western alliance is recklessly targeting civilian structures an allegation denied by NATO.
NATO has been bombing Libya since March under the authority of a United Nations mandate to protect civilians during an ongoing uprising againstMoammar Kadafi, who has ruled Libya for more than 40 years. Kadafi's government claims that more than 800 civilians have been killed in the bombings; the number is impossible for journalists here to verify, and some of the claims appear contrived.
NATO has never acknowledged causing any civilian casualties during its almost four-month air campaign including more than 10,000 sorties over government-controlled territory in Libya, according to a spokesman in Naples. The alliance has no one on the ground in government-held territory to assess such allegations, NATO officials said.
On Sunday, neighbors looked through wreckage of the devastated Tripoli apartment building, which, they said, was not near any military installation. Residents interviewed overwhelmingly blamed NATO for the bombings, though some with anti-regime sympathies suggested there might be another explanation.
Rebel spokesmen outside government-controlled territory questioned whether NATO was responsible.
At the scene, several people said they had heard aircraft and a whistling sound before the post-midnight blast. As many as half a dozen other nearby homes suffered varying amounts damage.
NATO appeared to resume its air operations Sunday afternoon over Tripoli. Planes were heard in the sky, and several explosions boomed in the distance.
The blast that toppled the apartment building occurred in the Arada Street neighborhood of the Souk Juma district, a sprawling community that is one of Tripoli's most populous.
The building that was hit was in the middle of a residential street about 150 yards from a major secondary school.
"This was a purely civilian street," said one man, who noted that he opposed the Kadafi government. "I think the sooner Kadafi goes the better. But for NATO to bomb a street like this is criminal. There is no military here anywhere."
The neighborhood has been a center of opposition to Kadafi, especially during disturbances that broke out in February and were put down by his regime
Government officials bused international journalists to the scene.
Scores of people in pajamas and sandals gathered on the rubble-strewn street well into the early-morning hours. Volunteers carted out chunks of concrete as they searched for survivors or the deceased. The body of a woman was found and taken away on a stretcher as the search continued. Bulldozers moved huge pieces of concrete and twisted wire. Children's clothing was seen in the rubble.
Witnesses said the explosion occurred at about 1:15 a.m.
Journalists were shown five bodies at Tripoli Central Hospital, three adults and two children, one a 9-month-old girl in diapers, her corpse laid out on a gurney.
Authorities and neighbors said the victims were all part of one extended family with the surname Gharari.
The incident took place as the war of words between NATO and the Libyan government had been heating up.
In one recent case, the Libyan government said a NATO bomb destroyed a hotel that was just 200 yards from three 12-story apartment buildings. The government also alleged that NATO hit a bus southwest of Tripoli this week, killing a dozen people, and that a NATO bomb struck a university building in Tripoli, though no one was hurt in that incident.
The government also has said a NATO bomb destroyed a factory where oxygen and nitrogen are fabricated for medical uses. That building, however, was adjacent to a military facility that had been heavily bombed. The government said that hospitals will now face a shortage of oxygen for operations and for the treatment of premature babies because the factory was destroyed.
NATO has said it takes every precaution to avoid civilian casualties.
NATO has acknowledged that it mistakenly bombed a column of rebel vehicles near the eastern city of Port Brega on Thursday, resulting in an unknown number of casualties. It was at least the fourth friendly fire incident in which NATO hit rebel positions, causing a total of at least 30 deaths and many injuries.
Photos: Libyan apartment bombing
patrick.mcdonnell@latimes.com
link: NATO investigates: Libya blames NATO for airstrike on apartment building - latimes.com
kwa habari zaidi nanukuu
NATO investigates: Libya blames NATO for airstrike on apartment building - latimes.com
Reporting from Tripoli, Libya
The Western alliance leading the air campaign over Libya said Sunday it was investigating allegations by the Libyan government that an airstrike had destroyed an apartment building in a densely populated Tripoli neighborhood, killing nine people and injuring 18 others.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization confirmed that its planes were operating above Tripoli at the time of the alleged attack, early Sunday morning. NATO was "conducting airstrikes against military targets," Wing Commander Mike Bracken, spokesman for the operation, said in a statement issued in Naples, the headquarters of the air effort.
"We take all such reports very seriously, and we're looking into the matter," Bracken said of the Libyan government's allegations.
Photos: Libyan apartment bombing
Libyan officials say the incident confirms their contention that the Western alliance is recklessly targeting civilian structures an allegation denied by NATO.
NATO has been bombing Libya since March under the authority of a United Nations mandate to protect civilians during an ongoing uprising againstMoammar Kadafi, who has ruled Libya for more than 40 years. Kadafi's government claims that more than 800 civilians have been killed in the bombings; the number is impossible for journalists here to verify, and some of the claims appear contrived.
NATO has never acknowledged causing any civilian casualties during its almost four-month air campaign including more than 10,000 sorties over government-controlled territory in Libya, according to a spokesman in Naples. The alliance has no one on the ground in government-held territory to assess such allegations, NATO officials said.
On Sunday, neighbors looked through wreckage of the devastated Tripoli apartment building, which, they said, was not near any military installation. Residents interviewed overwhelmingly blamed NATO for the bombings, though some with anti-regime sympathies suggested there might be another explanation.
Rebel spokesmen outside government-controlled territory questioned whether NATO was responsible.
At the scene, several people said they had heard aircraft and a whistling sound before the post-midnight blast. As many as half a dozen other nearby homes suffered varying amounts damage.
NATO appeared to resume its air operations Sunday afternoon over Tripoli. Planes were heard in the sky, and several explosions boomed in the distance.
The blast that toppled the apartment building occurred in the Arada Street neighborhood of the Souk Juma district, a sprawling community that is one of Tripoli's most populous.
The building that was hit was in the middle of a residential street about 150 yards from a major secondary school.
"This was a purely civilian street," said one man, who noted that he opposed the Kadafi government. "I think the sooner Kadafi goes the better. But for NATO to bomb a street like this is criminal. There is no military here anywhere."
The neighborhood has been a center of opposition to Kadafi, especially during disturbances that broke out in February and were put down by his regime
Government officials bused international journalists to the scene.
Scores of people in pajamas and sandals gathered on the rubble-strewn street well into the early-morning hours. Volunteers carted out chunks of concrete as they searched for survivors or the deceased. The body of a woman was found and taken away on a stretcher as the search continued. Bulldozers moved huge pieces of concrete and twisted wire. Children's clothing was seen in the rubble.
Witnesses said the explosion occurred at about 1:15 a.m.
Journalists were shown five bodies at Tripoli Central Hospital, three adults and two children, one a 9-month-old girl in diapers, her corpse laid out on a gurney.
Authorities and neighbors said the victims were all part of one extended family with the surname Gharari.
The incident took place as the war of words between NATO and the Libyan government had been heating up.
In one recent case, the Libyan government said a NATO bomb destroyed a hotel that was just 200 yards from three 12-story apartment buildings. The government also alleged that NATO hit a bus southwest of Tripoli this week, killing a dozen people, and that a NATO bomb struck a university building in Tripoli, though no one was hurt in that incident.
The government also has said a NATO bomb destroyed a factory where oxygen and nitrogen are fabricated for medical uses. That building, however, was adjacent to a military facility that had been heavily bombed. The government said that hospitals will now face a shortage of oxygen for operations and for the treatment of premature babies because the factory was destroyed.
NATO has said it takes every precaution to avoid civilian casualties.
NATO has acknowledged that it mistakenly bombed a column of rebel vehicles near the eastern city of Port Brega on Thursday, resulting in an unknown number of casualties. It was at least the fourth friendly fire incident in which NATO hit rebel positions, causing a total of at least 30 deaths and many injuries.
Photos: Libyan apartment bombing
patrick.mcdonnell@latimes.com
link: NATO investigates: Libya blames NATO for airstrike on apartment building - latimes.com
