Gaddafi advances, no-fly diplomacy falters

[oberliner]

Source: Reuters

(Reuters) - The Libyan army shelled a rebel-held city and closed in on the opposition bastion of Benghazi on Wednesday as diplomatic steps to stop Muammar Gaddafi crushing a rebellion ran aground.

In Geneva, former French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner berated the international community for its delay in imposing a no-fly zone, saying it was already too late to save lives.

"A no-fly zone is a minimum. It's certainly already too late," Kouchner said of Gadadfi's crackdown on the increasingly vulnerable-looking uprising, which was inspired by pro-democracy rebellions that toppled the Egyptian and Tunisian presidents.

"Even if we were able to decide today, it's so late," he told World Radio Switzerland. "We've known since three weeks that the poor civil society, the poor people, are dying. And we are doing nothing."

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/16/us-libya-idUSTRE7270JP20110316