NATO chief calls for more strike aircraft to bomb Libya

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen called on the alliance’s members to send more aircraft to deliver surgical strikes on Libyan targets, Western media said on Friday. "I encourage all allies that have aircraft at their disposal to take part in that operation as well," French news website 20minutes.fr quoted Rasmussen as saying during his meeting with the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte. Rasmussen said it was impossible to protect civilians in Libya effectively without “carrying out strikes against critical military units on the ground that can be used to attack civilians.” The NATO-led military operation against Gaddafi began on March 19, following a UN resolution authorizing countries "to take all necessary measures" to help protect Libyan civilians from attacks by Gaddafi’s forces, and was later extended until late September.