U.N. council approves no-fly zone over Libya

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also welcomed the resolution, his press office said in a statement.

But German Ambassador Peter Wittig, explaining his country’s abstention, warned of a possible protracted military conflict affecting the wider region. “We should not enter a military confrontation on the optimistic assumption that quick results with few casualties will be achieved,” he said.

The Russian and Chinese envoys said the resolution’s backers had failed to answer questions about how the no-fly zone would work and what the rules of engagement would be.

Apart from the military measures, the resolution also expands sanctions against Gaddafi and his inner circle imposed in a February 26 Security Council resolution.

Among those whose assets the resolution orders frozen are the Libyan National Oil Corp. and the central bank, which the resolution said were “under control of (Gaddafi) and his family” and a “potential source of funding for his regime.”

The resolution bans all flights over Libya except for humanitarian flights.

It allows states that have notified the United Nations and Arab League “to protect civilians and civilian populated areas under threat of attack in (Libya), while excluding a foreign occupation force of any form on any part of Libyan territory.”

The French-led rush to get a no-fly zone authorized at the United Nations came as Libyan troops advanced toward the insurgent stronghold of Benghazi and launched air raids on its outskirts.

The council imposed a no-fly zone over Bosnia in the 1990s, although some analysts say it failed to stop massacres like the 1995 slaughter of more than 8,000 Muslims in Srebrenica.

The United States originally reacted cautiously to calls for a no-fly zone over Libya, with some officials concerned it could be ineffective or politically damaging.

But in a sharp shift in tone, Washington this week began urging the United Nations to authorize not just a no-fly zone to aid Libyan rebels but also air strikes against Libyan tanks and heavy artillery, U.S. officials said.

U.N. diplomats said they understood the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Jordan were among Arab League members prepared to take part in enforcing the no-fly zone. (Additional reporting by Adrian Croft in London, John Irish in Paris and Missy Ryan in Washington; Editing by Todd Eastham)