{"id":387045,"date":"2011-04-21T21:10:50","date_gmt":"2011-04-21T21:10:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/04\/21\/us-to-operate-drones-over-libya\/"},"modified":"2011-04-21T21:10:50","modified_gmt":"2011-04-21T21:10:50","slug":"us-to-operate-drones-over-libya","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/21\/us-to-operate-drones-over-libya\/","title":{"rendered":"US to operate drones over Libya"},"content":{"rendered":"

21 April 2011<\/span> Last updated at<\/span> 17:10 ET<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Armed US Predator drones are set to carry out missions in Libya, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has said.<\/p>\n

Mr Gates said their use had been authorised by President Barack Obama and would give “precision capability” to the military operation.<\/p>\n

US drones are already used to target militants along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.<\/p>\n

Libyan rebels have been battling Col Gaddafi’s troops since February but have recently made little headway.<\/p>\n

“President Obama has said that where we have some unique capabilities, he is willing to use those,” Mr Gates told a news conference.<\/p>\n

He said two armed, unmanned Predators were being made available to Nato as needed.<\/p>\n

Mr Gates denied that the drone deployment was evidence of “mission creep” in Libya and said there was no plan to put US “boots on the ground” in Libya.<\/p>\n

He said they marked a “modest contribution” to the military operations.<\/p>\n

Gen James Cartwright, vice-chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the first mission had taken place on Thursday but turned back due to bad weather.<\/p>\n

He said the drones – which can fly at a lower altitude than conventional fighter jets – were “uniquely suited for urban areas”, providing improved visibility of tanks and other potential targets.<\/p>\n

Post captured<\/span><\/p>\n

Earlier on Thursday, Libyan rebels seized control of a border post on the Tunisian border after government soldiers fled, say reports.<\/p>\n

The move marks a rare advance against government troops in the west of the country and followed intense fighting in the western mountain region.<\/p>\n

Fierce fighting is also continuing in the western city of Misrata, where medics say more than 1,000 people have died.<\/p>\n

Rebels in Misrata claim to have found remnants of cluster bombs but the Libyan government has so far denied the charge.<\/p>\n

The BBC’s Orla Guerin in Misrata says she has seen the bombs herself and that doctors have told her they are causing increasingly horrific injuries, with some civilians losing limbs.<\/p>\n

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called on the Libyan authorities to “stop fighting and stop killing people”.<\/p>\n

He said the UN’s priority was to bring about “a verifiable and effective ceasefire” to enable humanitarian work and political dialogue to take place.<\/p>\n

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