Stuart Hughes · @stuartdhughes
15th Apr 2011 from Twitlonger
BREAKING: Copy just filed - @williamjhague talks to @bbcnews about #libya
From Stuart Hughes, World Affairs Producer in Berlin
The Foreign Secretary, William Hague, has defended NATO’s operation in Libya amid warnings from of an impending government "massacre" in Misrata if NATO does not intensify its attacks there.
Speaking to the BBC at the NATO Foreign Ministers meeting in Berlin, Mr Hague said that if it hadn’t been for NATO and its allies, Misrata would probably have been over-run by Colonel Gaddafi’s forces some time ago. He said the city had been saved so far by NATO’s operations and said NATO was constrained by the close-quarters nature of the conflict in Misrata, which increased the danger of civilian casualties – something he said NATO was committed to avoiding.
Mr Hague repeated his insistence that there could be no peaceful or viable way forward for Libya while Colonel Gaddafi remained in power.