France to send military officers to Libya to help rebel forces

PanARMENIAN.Net - France is joining Britain in sending military officers to Libya to help rebel forces organize and bolster the NATO air campaign that has failed to rout Moammar Gadhafi's military.

France insisted Wednesday, April 20, that it is not ready to send ground troops of its own into Libya, but says the U.N. Security Council should consider it. NATO, leading the U.N.-sanctioned international military operation to protect civilians, now acknowledges that airstrikes alone cannot stop the heavy shelling by Gadhafi's forces.

"There will be a small number of liaison officers at the sides of (Libya's opposition governing council) to carry out liaison missions aimed at organizing the protection of civilians," French government spokesman Francois Baroin said Wednesday after a Cabinet meeting.

He did not say how many officers would go, or where. He insisted that such a move conforms to the UN resolution authorizing the international military campaign in Libya.

Britain announced Tuesday it is sending up to 20 military advisers to help Libya's rebel forces. France and Britain led the push for international intervention in Libya.

France was the first country to recognize Libya's opposition, and Libyan opposition leader Mustafa Abdul-Jalil is meeting Wednesday in Paris with French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

However, France's government appeared wary of lobbying for a ground campaign, which would entail more risks for French troops and be more politically delicate, according to the Associated Press.