World

French Jets Destroy Libyan Plane Reportedly Violating No-Fly Zone

BENGHAZI, Libya (AP) — French fighter jets struck an air base deep inside Libya and destroyed one of Moammar Gadhafi’s planes Thursday, and NATO ships patrolled the coast to block the flow of arms and mercenaries. Other coalition bombers struck artillery, arms depots and parked helicopters.

French Jets Destroy Libyan Plane Reportedly Violating No Fly Zone

Libyan state television on Thursday showed blackened and mangled bodies that it said were victims of airstrikes in Tripoli, the capital. Rebels have accused Gadhafi’s forces of taking bodies from the morgue and pretending they are civilian casualties.

The international military operation against Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi’s forces may last days or weeks – but not months, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said. But the rebels who largely control Libya’s east remain outgunned and disorganized – instead of handing out weapons at a checkpoint, they were distributing sneakers to would-be fighters on Thursday.

The French strikes overnight hit a base about 250 kilometers (155 miles) south of the Libyan coastline, French military spokesman Thierry Burkhard told reporters in Paris on Thursday without elaborating on the target or possible damage.

France’s joint chiefs of staff, in a statement on their Web site, said French surveillance aircraft noticed a Libyan combat plane that was flying near Misrata in violation of the U.N. Security Council resolution. A French Rafale fighter jet fired a guided air-to-ground missile on the Libyan jet after it landed at the Misrata air base.

French Jets Destroy Libyan Plane Reportedly Violating No Fly Zone

In Tripoli, Libyan deputy foreign minister Khaled Kaim said that the “military compound at Juffra” was among the targets hit before dawn. Juffra is one of at least two air bases deep in Libya’s interior, on main routes that lead from neighboring countries in the Sahara region that have been suppliers of arms and fighters for the Gadhafi regime.

The town of Sabha, about 385 miles (620 kilometers) south of Tripoli, has another air base and international airport and is a major transit point for the ethnic Tuareg fighters from Mali and Niger who have fought for Gadhafi for the past two decades. Malian officials say hundreds of Tuareg men have left to fight in Libya in the recent uprising.

Abdel Rahman Barkuli, a Libyan in exile originally from Sabha, said communications with his family there were abruptly cut on Wednesday night and heavy security is barring residents from moving in or out.

He said he spoke to residents in Sabha who reported several airstrikes before dawn: two targeted radars and one targeted a military camp. One of the radars is next to a mountain in the city that he said was packed with ammunitions and heavy weaponry.

“Thank God they didn’t bomb the mountain because it would be a disaster” for the civilians living nearby, he said.

“My last contact with them, they said that the city is cordoned off by heavy security forces, of Faris Brigades. Snipers are on the rooftops,” he said. “My family told me that Sabha has turned into a barracks.”

Barkuli said members of two anti-Gadhafi tribes in the city were rounded up early in the protests that began Feb. 15. “No one knows anything about their whereabouts,” he said.

NATO warships began patrolling Wednesday off Libya‘s Mediterranean coast in an effort the blockade’s commander described as “closing the main front door” to weapons and mercenaries for Gadhafi.

Vice Adm. Rinaldo Veri said the Mediterranean was the most efficient way to get weapons into Libya and that it was impossible to patrol its entire coast. He expected to have enough vessels in place in a few days for effective operations.

Veri said NATO was prepared to board any suspect ships that don’t voluntarily submit to inspections.

“If they should find resistance, the use of force is necessary,” he said, noting that the Security Council had mandated all means necessary to enforce the embargo.

Coalition bombers planes and ships continued to strike at Gadhafi positions, including artillery, tanks, an ammunition bunker and a small number of helicopters as they sat on an airfield along the coast, a U.S. defense official said Thursday on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the record.

More than a dozen Tomahawk cruise missiles were fired from U.S. and British ships in the Mediterranean Sea late Wednesday and early Thursday, their targets including Gadhafi’s air defense missile sites in Tripoli and south of the capital. Other attacks were launched against an ammunition bunker near Misrata and forces south of Benghazi, the official said.

The U.N. Security Council authorized the embargo and no-fly zone to protect Libyan civilians after Gadhafi launched attacks against anti-government protesters who wanted him to leave after 42 years in power. But rebel advances have foundered, and the two sides have been at stalemate in key cities such as Misrata and Ajdabiya, the gateway to the opposition’s eastern stronghold.

Ajdabiya has been under siege for more than a week, with the rebels holding the city center but facing relentless shelling from government troops positioned on the outskirts.

Residents fleeing the violence said the situation inside the city has deteriorated in recent days. Two airstrikes targeted the area early Thursday, said a rebel, Taha el-Hassadi.

Mohammed Ali, 56, who fled with his family in a station wagon said, “They’ve cut everything – the electricity, the water. It’s getting worse and worse inside.”

Government troops also continued barraging the western city of Misrata on Thursday but were forced to roll back their tanks periodically amid coalition airstrikes.

A 42-year-old doctor in the city said shelling had damaged a mosque and a hotel near the hospital.

“When the allies’ planes were seen flying in the sky, the shelling stopped and the tanks fled,” he said. “We still have to deal with snipers in the main street in Misrata and try to warn people to stay away from it.”

Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the International Criminal Court’s prosecutor, said he was “100 percent” certain that his investigation into attacks on Libyan protesters will lead to crimes against humanity charges against the Gadhafi regime.

The investigation was launched with unprecedented speed, which the prosecutor attributed to technology, which has brought images of Libyan violence to the world.

“Technology is reducing the distance between people in Libya and people in the (rest of the) world,” the Argentine prosecutor said. “Journalists showing the killing of civilians in Libya created this willingness to intervene.”

—

Michael and Associated Press writer Ben Hubbard reported from Cairo. Associated Press writers Jamey Keaten in Paris; Pauline Jelinek and Bob Burns in Washington; Nicole Winfield in Rome; and Martin Vogl in Bamako, Mali, contributed to this report.

Comments (96)

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  • thegreatcarnac
    Posted on March 24, 2011 at 5:06pm

    I hear the French are happy because they shot down their first plane since the ‘Red Baron’ days of WWI.
    Then again….I heard the French are mad as hell because obama’s usual fumbling put them in the situation of having to shoot down their first plane since WWI. I mean….what if the other plane had shot back or something. The French embassy in Morocco immediately sent condolences to Libya and also sent a check to buy another plane.

    Report Post »  
  • teddrunk
    Posted on March 24, 2011 at 4:36pm

    Hey, look at it this way… 1 mission and they didn’t surrender…yet

    Report Post »  
  • Lion420
    Posted on March 24, 2011 at 4:14pm

    For what? Standing up for Al-Qaeda? It figures, the first time they show some guts, and this is what they do!

    Report Post » Lion420  
    • eingriff
      Posted on March 24, 2011 at 6:15pm

      Where to begin? Latest is waging war without congressional authorization.

      Start hearings, sweep in other high crimes and misdemeanors. It‘s hard to draft an indictment that wouldn’t cover him.

      Report Post »  
    • JeffScism
      Posted on March 25, 2011 at 7:40pm

      Waging war without congressional hearings is the NORM. You don’t debate going to war, you go, the funding gets debated when time allows.

      You can analyze the NEED to go to war after the event, but often the decision is spur of the moment, and can not wait for debates from a committee.

      In this case I think our illustrious C-in-C saw a pile of guano, thought for a second, then stomped it to see how far it would splash.

      Report Post »  
  • anutter
    Posted on March 24, 2011 at 3:59pm

    I didn’t even realize the French had an Air Force.

    Report Post »  
    • Locksmith
      Posted on March 24, 2011 at 4:58pm

      “Air” yes. Still working on the “Force” part…

      Report Post »  
  • temple62
    Posted on March 24, 2011 at 3:51pm

    Gaddafi would like to thank the American taxpayers for their assistance to re-gaining control of the Libyan sand dunes. The tomahawk craters will be useful in the construction of the new Olympic style swimming pools in Tripoli for the first families. The old destroyed arms can now be replaced by new technical weapons to be purchased as per Obama’s continuing program called “Munitions for Muslims”. Gaddafi reported he is trying to salvage jet plane parts to get the last of them in the sky so the French can blow the hell out of em and we’ll be in line for new ones from Lockheed. Halliburton is bidding on the reconstruction of new highways and cities and Blackwater is eager to provide the security forces as well. It will be like Christmas in our culture, presents for everyone and Obama and Gaddafi both claiming re-distribution of wealth victories.

    Report Post » temple62  
  • lynda1276
    Posted on March 24, 2011 at 3:46pm

    ooh la la

    Report Post »  
  • Lion420
    Posted on March 24, 2011 at 3:32pm

    Booooo!

    Report Post » Lion420  
  • dgremark12
    Posted on March 24, 2011 at 3:30pm

    I saw they had French guns for sale from WW2 on Ebay it stated “never been fired and only dropped once”

    Report Post »  
  • temple62
    Posted on March 24, 2011 at 3:28pm

    One more reason to NOT TO BELIEVE THE SO-NEWS:

    MARCH 23: Rear Admiral Gerard Hueber, chief of staff of Joint Task Force Odyssey Dawn, spoke to reporters at the Pentagon from aboard the USS Mount Whitney in the Mediterranean Sea. He said coalition forces had flown 175 sorties over a 24 hour period ending Wednesday morning. The proportion flown by U.S. aircraft has dropped to a little more than half – or 63 sorties, he said. As a result, he added, Libya NO LONGER HAS AN OPERABLE AIR FORCE.

    MARCH 24: Like the Phoenix today, the downed Libyan jet must have rose from the ashes to fly again. No one really knows the truth but the majority of what we hear is simply “creative journalism”.

    Report Post » temple62  
    • JeffScism
      Posted on March 25, 2011 at 7:33pm

      One aircraft doesn’t make an “operable Air Force” and now it is one less than what it was yesterday.

      I am more concerned about all those terrorists he trained in those terrorist training facilities in southern Libya. It was a real Club Med for a while.

      Report Post »  
  • mrsmileyface
    Posted on March 24, 2011 at 3:26pm

    Im not 100% sure but there maybe a French ATC asleep at the tower.

    Report Post » mrsmileyface  
  • PineyWoods
    Posted on March 24, 2011 at 3:18pm

    Gotta love our latest Pentagram, oops, meant Pentagon spokesman General Ham. I’ve heard of “first in war”, this guy looks like he is “first in line” at the Happy Hour buffet at the Officers Club!

    Report Post » PineyWoods  
  • Al J Zira
    Posted on March 24, 2011 at 2:58pm

    C’mon, be honest here! The French shot at something? I’ll bet the HUD (heads up display) in the cockpit shows a picture of Mario shooting a water gun at Luigi. And if he misses all the flowers on the ground around Luigi start to grow.

    Report Post » Al J Zira  
  • Ghandi was a Republican
    Posted on March 24, 2011 at 2:54pm

    Does this all mean that Ahmedinijad and the mullahs are next? They are 100 times worse than Kadaffi (who incidentally was lauded as a wonderful man by the progressives 2 years ago as he freely moved about NY city). He wad almost canonized as a Saint as he denigrated the U.S. to the applause of progressives at the U.N. He didn’t even get cited for Setting up his circus tent in Central park without a permit — But now?

    Report Post » Ghandi was a Republican  
  • eddiee
    Posted on March 24, 2011 at 2:51pm

    Lenin once said: “When the time is right we will make great concessions and overtures of peace to the capitalists and they will sell us the rope with which we will hang them” [707]. Lenin understood capitalists much better than he understood capitalism. He did not foresee that the capitalists would sell them the rope on credit.

    Report Post »  
    • psst
      Posted on March 24, 2011 at 5:38pm

      Well!! Ol Vlad Illich could not think of “everything” Ya know, he was Ol Vlad, not Ol’ Nostradamus
      Back then credit was not as easy to get as it now is.
      All the US capitalist redit card companies were not sending him pre-approved credit cards in the mail.

      But anyway, your part about getting the rope on credit was funny.

      Report Post »  
  • Marylou7
    Posted on March 24, 2011 at 2:37pm

    Blaze you really need to get someone to proof your copy. There are just too many errors. Your staff is just way to smart to let spelling gaffes make you appear dumb. Love you guys though. (((great big smile for ya)))

    Report Post » Marylou7  
  • Showtime
    Posted on March 24, 2011 at 2:30pm

    We need to get the H— out of there!

    Report Post » Showtime  
    • Non-sequitur
      Posted on March 24, 2011 at 2:42pm

      Yep, big daddy France has got this, we can go back in the kitchen.

      Report Post »  
    • vennoye
      Posted on March 24, 2011 at 3:03pm

      You are ABSOLUTELY right!! We should have never gotten involved like we did! If this president EVER studied constitutional law, it certainly wasn’t our Constitution!

      Report Post » vennoye  
  • GhostOfJefferson
    Posted on March 24, 2011 at 2:24pm

    The French are competent militarily folks. They sucked some wind in WW2, but I don’t recall any other non-neutral neighboring nation to Germany faring that well either. Of the defeated nations in WW2, the French didn’t submit quietly but fought back with a resistance force as well as handed off all kinds of intelligence to the Allies. Prior to the 20th century, they kicked *major* international butt.

    I know it’s all fun and stuff to snark at the French, but we owe them a lot culturally, in fact we probably owe the existence of our nation to their much appreciated help.

    Report Post » GhostOfJefferson  
    • Gonzo
      Posted on March 24, 2011 at 2:37pm

      Ghost, Don’t forget The Vichy government. Half of them slapped a swastika on their sleve.

      Report Post » Gonzo  
    • and to the republic
      Posted on March 24, 2011 at 2:49pm

      and french fries….

      Report Post »  
    • 13th Imam
      Posted on March 24, 2011 at 2:56pm

      Just finished a book about the war in NA. The French that were there were Vichy French up to the invasion . At that point the French leaders waffled back and forth , supporting which ever side was in charge of the area. Also there were 2 French leaders who vied for control. The Arabs scavenged both sides dead , like the jackals they are. History Repeating Itself

      Report Post » 13th Imam  
    • Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
      Posted on March 24, 2011 at 3:03pm

      Ghost:

      I understand, the book of “Sixty days that shook the west” and several others details the courage and esprit-de-corps of the french soldiers of the line; during the opening of WW2 it was the total lack of competence in the leadership (military and political) on the French that led to their wholesale defeat and occupation.

      Report Post » Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}  
    • GhostOfJefferson
      Posted on March 24, 2011 at 3:08pm

      Precisely Snow. And the same fate can (and has) befall us as well from time to time. We didn’t win Vietnam, our men fought well and bravely but our leadership screwed us over hard.

      Report Post » GhostOfJefferson  
    • BurntHills
      Posted on March 24, 2011 at 5:48pm

      the existence of OUR NATION was brought about solely by the blood and honor and fight in our AMERICAN revolutionary war soldiers. France stalled the Treaty until it was apparent we were winning.

      Report Post » BurntHills  
    • kctaz
      Posted on March 25, 2011 at 3:21pm

      The Resistance of France was extraordinarily brave. However, the Vichy were not and never forget that the French cheerfully handed French Jews over to the Nazi’s.

      I am not sure the Resistance made up for the Vichy and the behavior of the French towards the Jews, not to mention that it was Clemenceau, who is described by historians as “brilliant in his short-sightedness”, who set up the very conditions for a dictator to come to power in Germany after WW I. Wilson, so enthralled with the notion of the League of Nations, which he never could even sell at home, caved in and let Clemenceau have his way. The rest, as theys ay, is history.

      PS Wilson was a Progressive. One of the reasons Progressives had to change their name to Liberal. Now that Liberal has been ruined by the Liberals, they have returned to Progressive, figuring that enough time has passed that people will have forgotten why they quit calling themselves Progressives in the first place.

      Report Post » kctaz  
    • JeffScism
      Posted on March 25, 2011 at 7:04pm

      Don’t think for a minute that the french are truly incompetent militarily.

      Even if the only army to defend Paris was Germany’s.

      Report Post »  
    • Don
      Posted on March 28, 2011 at 2:32am

      That is correct if not for the French we may be English sudjects.

      Report Post » Arizona Don  
  • LadyIzShy
    Posted on March 24, 2011 at 2:24pm

    they did something right.. very good..

    Report Post » LadyIzShy  
  • G man
    Posted on March 24, 2011 at 2:23pm

    They were trying to put the jet in reverse and pulled the wrong lever.

    Report Post » G man  
  • Gonzo
    Posted on March 24, 2011 at 2:23pm

    Gadaffi should remind the French that surrender IS an option, I‘m sure they’d take it.

    Report Post » Gonzo  
  • IAMMADDOG
    Posted on March 24, 2011 at 2:20pm

    I’m surprised the French even have an airforce.

    Report Post »  
    • psst
      Posted on March 24, 2011 at 5:28pm

      Say what you will, but the French makes excellent warplanes.Their Mirage jets are top of the line fighter jets.

      Report Post »  
    • CanteenBoy
      Posted on March 24, 2011 at 6:57pm

      Psst… The Mirage jets are THEIR top-of-the-line fighter jet, not THE…

      Report Post » CanteenBoy  
  • MAJORMINOR
    Posted on March 24, 2011 at 2:19pm

    The French actually fired a weapon! What is happening?

    Report Post » MAJORMINOR  
    • code green
      Posted on March 24, 2011 at 2:28pm

      They have to fire at least one so they can say they were in a war, so they can surrender properly

      Report Post »  
    • Showtime
      Posted on March 24, 2011 at 2:36pm

      What‘s happening is that Congress is looking into International Law that’s being violated, precedents set by previous presidents, and are meeting to see what can be done about Obama’s outlandish behavior. EVERYBODY under the Dome is mad at him for turning our military over to a COMMITTEE!

      And, someone in one of the congressional offices that I spoke with this a.m. said that in the ten years that he’s worked on the Hill, he’s never seen anything like the awakening of the American people as he has seen in the last two years. The phone calls, Internet mail from the congressmen’s websites, the snail mail — never has he seen anything like the volume that there is today. “Unbelievable!”

      Keep up the heat, folks!

      Report Post » Showtime  
    • Untameable-kate
      Posted on March 24, 2011 at 2:38pm

      The French at least are showing that they have some teeth for a change, unlike US who (thanks to our wimpy POTUS) have to ask what everyone else is going to do before he will make a decision.

      Report Post » Untameable-kate  
    • chips1
      Posted on March 24, 2011 at 2:42pm

      They could have accomplished the same thing without firing a shot. Just put the FAA in control of the flights!!!

      Report Post »  
  • NickDeringer
    Posted on March 24, 2011 at 2:18pm

    Are you sure the French jets did this on purpose?

    Report Post » NickDeringer  
  • Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
    Posted on March 24, 2011 at 2:18pm

    At the least the French managed to down one plane without destroying any of ours in the process, as of yet that is.

    Report Post » Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}  
    • Non-sequitur
      Posted on March 24, 2011 at 2:38pm

      Yep, we only managed to down a plane of our own and then shoot up civilians who were near that plane during the rescue operation.

      Report Post »  
    • docvet
      Posted on March 24, 2011 at 3:41pm

      If I read that right, the Libyian jet was attacked as it was landing (after it did whatever). I guess that worked for the French since the Libyian fighter couldn’t fight back while landing. At least it wasn’t ours.

      Report Post »  
    • CanteenBoy
      Posted on March 24, 2011 at 4:16pm

      The plane violated the no-fly zone and thus was destroyed. Doesn’t have to be a fair fight, does it?

      Report Post » CanteenBoy  
    • Devil Dog 7175
      Posted on March 24, 2011 at 5:20pm

      Doc… I heard the same thing, that it had either just landed or was landing… GREAT VICTORY you terrors of the sky!

      Report Post » Devil Dog 7175  
  • mrsmileyface
    Posted on March 24, 2011 at 2:17pm

    When the French flex thier so called military muscle you know your in trouble.

    Report Post » mrsmileyface  
    • GhostOfJefferson
      Posted on March 24, 2011 at 2:21pm

      “Veri said NATO was prepared to board any suspect ships that don’t voluntarily submit to inspections.”

      This is OT. Isn’t this IRS logic here? Volunteer, or we’ll force you? How is that voluntary?

      Not taking up slack for Libya, just marveling at the application of government-logic.

      Report Post » GhostOfJefferson  
    • SavingtheRepublic.com
      Posted on March 24, 2011 at 2:23pm

      OMG take note of headline FRENCH Jets Destroy… BHO right on course in taking the US out as a world leader and giving power to the UN!

      Report Post » SavingtheRepublic.com  
    • Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
      Posted on March 24, 2011 at 2:24pm

      When the French flex their muscle, it is time to pray that your foxhole is deep enough for when their bombs land on their allies instead of the enemy…

      I am finding it quite interesting via several of the worlds news agencies of events going on concerning the war with Libya…

      Some are claiming it is a “Kinetic Military Action” (Slate online) sorry it is still a war.
      Online Emirates 27/7 says 80% of Americans support further military action in Libya.
      And such disparagant claims across the board…

      And while all of this is going on, Hamas is again launching a dozen rockets deep into Israel lands while proclaiming they will destroy the nation of Israel if they dare to retaliate again. The government of Israel is saying the ‘war of attrition’ will end.

      Report Post » Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}  
    • GONESURFING
      Posted on March 24, 2011 at 2:25pm

      So we are supporting the Libyan rebels, so is Al Qaeda, as reported today on FOX news.

      Report Post » GONESURFING  
    • Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
      Posted on March 24, 2011 at 2:31pm

      @GhostofJefferson

      It seems kind of ironic, the UN will stop and board any ship along Libya, and yet when Israel boarded a ship bearing supplies for Hamas, the world went nuts against them.

      Once again we get to see the double standards of the UN and most of the world.

      Report Post » Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}  
    • Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
      Posted on March 24, 2011 at 2:36pm

      Gonesurfing:

      Sure looks like it, just as the administration would prefer. Anything to cause strife and chaos while distracting the nation from his next set of moves.

      Report Post » Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}  
    • Non-sequitur
      Posted on March 24, 2011 at 2:38pm

      “So we are supporting the Libyan rebels, so is Al Qaeda, as reported today on FOX news.”

      So?

      Report Post »  
    • psst
      Posted on March 24, 2011 at 4:10pm

      @Snow who said.It seems kind of ironic, the UN will stop and board any ship along Libya, and yet when Israel boarded a ship bearing supplies for Hamas, the world went nuts against them.

      Um, there is a translation problem at the UN. The top Arab translator who speaks 25 languages (The UN relies on him) told the UN that the folks who belongs in Hama are the Chosen People.
      So it was just all a mis-understanding.The UN thought the the Turks and other leftists were bringing “stuff” to the Israelis.
      But it’s all been cleared up now. Ships brunging “stuff” to the Chosen will be escorted by warships under UN’s control.

      Report Post »  
    • avenger
      Posted on March 24, 2011 at 4:22pm

      wow..the radical islamic caliphate builders are having orgasms.the evil west is building their empire…

      Report Post »  
    • encinom
      Posted on March 24, 2011 at 5:04pm

      Its about time the other western countries step up. MAny here would argue (especially the Paulites) that the US is not the policeman of the world. For that to be true we need and expect other nations to act and be dependant on solely on us.

      The Beckerheads here are daming Obama for what ever he does, whether or not he acted he would have been damned. This place is devoid of logic and reason, instead it is filled with Beck’s hate and fear.

      Report Post »  
    • sooner12
      Posted on March 24, 2011 at 10:51pm

      The last time the French fought a war they high-tailed it out of Vietnam. The time before that they lasted no more than six weeks before giving up to the Germans. How long will they last this time?

      Report Post »  
    • not 2 old 2 vote
      Posted on March 25, 2011 at 8:27am

      Hard to relax when fighting a war or is it? Take a look at video 1:17 and notice fellow lying on ground in lower right. Posed and ready RIGHT!!!!

      Report Post »  
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