No coordination with Libya rebels: US official

(AFP) – 40 minutes ago

WASHINGTON — Allied forces in Libya are not coordinating with the rebels and the mission remains simply to protect civilians from attack or threat of attack, a senior US official said Sunday.
Briefing journalists in Washington after NATO agreed to take the helm of Libyan military operations, the official was asked several times to clarify the mandate as coalition air strikes helped to rout Moamer Kadhafi's forces.
"The mandate is very simple, it is to protect civilians and civilian-populated areas from attack, and any forces that are attacking or threatening to attack civilians will be subject to targeting by NATO in exactly the same way," the official said.
UN Security Council resolution 1973 -- the fruit of intense diplomacy to avoid Russian and Chinese vetoes while winning Arab support -- allows for "all necessary means" to support the limited aim of protecting Libyan civilians.
But coalition air strikes have struck Kadhafi's ground forces as well as targets in the capital Tripoli and the strongman's hometown of Sirte, prompting accusations that the alliance is over-reaching its mandate.continued