French warplanes struck their first Libyan target late Saturday, enforcing a “no-fly” zone to protect civilians
and stop a crackdown on rebels by military units supporting leader Moammar Gadhafi.
French President Nicholas Sarkozy announced the military action in Paris on Saturday as representatives of the U.N., European Union, Arab and Western powers wrapped up an emergency summit on the Libyan crisis.
He said the leaders agreed to use all necessary means — including military force — to carry out a U.N. Security Council resolution approved on Thursday.
French fighter jets struck a Libyan military vehicle about two hours after the decision.
The Council declared a “no-fly” zone over Libya and specifically authorized world powers to use “all measures necessary” to stop pro-Gadhafi forces from bearing down on rebels trying to bring down the government.
U.S. President Barack Obama reacted a short while later during his visit to Brazil. He said the allied consensus is strong, the resolve is clear and the Libyan people must be protected.
Later, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton commented from the Paris summit, where she defended the world leaders' decision.
Clinton said that while there was talk of a cease-fire from Tripoli, the reality on the ground told a different story. Clinton said world powers believed that any further delay in action would put more Libyan civilians at risk.
Clinton added that French planes already were in the air above Libya as the group was meeting.
Separately, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced the formation of a naval blockade.
Earlier Saturday, pro-government forces in Libya advanced against rebels on two fronts. Insurgents in their eastern stronghold of Benghazi said government loyalists had been pushing forward in apparent disregard of the cease-fire Mr. Gadhafi declared on Friday.
There were also reports of fighting south of Benghazi in Adjabiya as well as in Misrata, a rebel-held city in western Libya near Tripoli.
Mr. Gadhafi had sent urgent messages to world leaders Saturday, including Mr. Obama and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. In a letter read to reporters by a government spokesman in Tripoli, Mr. Gadhafi noted the rebels had seized control of Benghazi, and asked rhetorically how Mr. Obama would “behave” if there was a similar situation in the United States.
Addressing the U.N. secretary-general, Mr. Gadhafi said the Security Council's resolution on Libya is “invalid,” and predicted that any Western action against Libya would be seen as “clear aggression.”