Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Sunday condemned the Western-led military action against the Libyan government, claiming that the “indiscriminate bombing” was causing civilian casualties.
During his weekly television and radio program, Chavez said the air raids on Libya must be stopped, saying no country has the right to drop bombs on Libya.
He said that dialogue instead of bombs is the only way to resolve a conflict.
According to figures provided by the Libyan authorities, at least 64 people were reported to have been killed and 150 others wounded following the joint operation led by the United States, France, Britain, Canada and Italy on Saturday night and early Sunday.
French warplanes took the lead in the air strikes, which came after the UN Security Council passed a resolution on Friday imposing a no-fly zone over Libya.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said Russia regretted the foreign military intervention, urging Western coalition forces to stop indiscriminate air strikes in Libya.
“We are calling on the respective states to halt the indiscriminate use of force,” the ministry said in a statement issued on Sunday.
Arab League chief Amr Moussa criticized on Sunday international coalition force’s bombing against Libya, saying the situation in Libya was not what Arabs had envisaged when they agreed on the imposition of a no-fly zone over Libya.
“What has happened in Libya differs from the goal of imposing a no-fly zone and what we want is the protection of civilians and not bombing other civilians,” said Moussa.
China’s Foreign Ministry on Sunday expressed regret over the multinational military strike against Libya, saying that it did not agree with resorting to force in international relations.
China believes that the tenet and principles of the UN Charter and relevant international laws should be adhered to, and Libya’s sovereignty, independence, unification and territorial integrity should be respected, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said.
Meanwhile, reports on late Saturday said a high-level African Union (AU) panel on the Libya crisis opposes any foreign military intervention in Libya.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast Sunday condemned the West’s military air raid on Libya, saying he doubted about the true objectives of “dominant powers” in occupying other countries.
“These powers usually enter the scene under the pretext of supporting people … However, they are pursuing their own interests which are based on dominance over other nations,” Mehmanparast said.
India Sunday regretted the air strikes on Libya conducted by the six Western nations led by the United States, Britain and France.
“India views with grave concern the continuing violence, strife and deteriorating humanitarian situation in Libya. It regrets the air strikes that are taking place,” the External Affairs Ministry said in a statement.
At least 64 people were reported to have been killed and 150 others wounded following the joint operation led by the United States, France, Britain, Canada and Italy.
* Report edited by The 4th media, contributions from news agencies.