Libyan foreign minister Lusa Kusa announced Friday morning that the country's military would cease attacks against rebels there. The announcement came after the United Nations approved a US-led no-fly-zone over Libya in a 10-0 vote (with five abstensions) Thursday evening.
The Washington Post reported Friday:
“We decided on an immediate cease-fire and on an immediate stop to all military operations,” Libyan foreign Minister Musa Kusa told reporters in the capital, Tripoli. He said Libya “takes great interest in protecting civilians” and that it would also protect foreigners and foreign assets in the country...
The vote marked a dramatic turn in the world’s response to the Libyan crisis after weeks of debate and reluctance by many to intervene, and it comes as rebel forces were said to be on the brink of defeat.
Celebrations erupted across Benghazi as word of the vote reached the rebels. Clerics chanted “God is great” over mosque loudspeakers, and the streets were filled with celebratory gunfire and people waving the pre-Gaddafi Libyan flag adopted by the rebels.
So did the no-fly-zone accomplish its objective, or is it too early to tell? Hindsight is of course 20-20, but do you think it was the right course of action - at the right time - for the United States and the international community to take? Remember, Moammar Gaddafi had said his troops would go "door-to-door" with "no pity, no mercy," a statement with more than a hint of genocidal intent.
