Brussels: NATO said on Saturday that claims by
Muammar Gaddafi`s regime that the alliance was perpetrating
war crimes in Libya were "outrageous".
Responding to accusations of "war crimes and crimes
against humanity" by Prime Minister Baghdadi al-Mahmudi in
Tripoli, NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said in a statement
that "the claims made by Gaddafi and members of his regime are
outrageous."
"It is Gaddafi and his regime that have been
systematically and brutally attacking the Libyan people."
Speaking at a Tripoli news conference, Mahmudi said
his accusations were based on NATO "directly targeting
civilian sites" with air raids over the past three days.
"We are conducting operations with utmost care and
precision to avoid civilian casualties," Lungescu said.
"Civilian casualties figures mentioned by the Libyan regime
are pure propaganda."
The Libyan prime minister also called for "an urgent
meeting" of the United Nations to examine "crimes committed by
NATO against Libyan civilians," saying the alliance had hit
targets including a university and a hotel in Tripoli on
Friday.
In its daily operational update, NATO listed its
Friday hits in Tripoli as two military vehicle storage
facilities.
In the vicinity of Tripoli, the alliance hit an
armoured vehicle storage and maintenance facility, three
surface-to-air missile loaders and three self-propelled
anti-aircraft guns, it said.
PTI
