In These New Times

RiaNovosti

28th December, 2011

Egypt may join Russia’s probe into the deaths of peaceful Libyans killed by NATO air strikes during its military campaign, Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr said on Wednesday.

“We are considering this issue and consulting with [our] Russian colleagues and will make a decision after the consultations,” Amr said after a meeting in Moscow with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov.

Last week, Russia’s UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin urged NATO to investigate civilian deaths in Libya from its bombing campaign, saying the alliance’s claim that there were no civilian casualties was untrue.

His remarks came after The New York Times claimed up to 70 people were killed in Libya during NATO’s eight-month military operation.

Churkin said he has asked NATO to give “a definitive report” to the UN Security Council summing up its activities in Libya. But he said “unfortunately” the alliance only provided “piecemeal, rather perfunctory reports… (that) were not very informative.”

The international NATO-led military operation in Libya began on March 19, two days after the approval of a UN resolution on “targeted measures” to protect civilians.

Libya saw almost ten months of fierce fighting before the opposition Libyan National Transitional Council established control over the country’s territory.

Ousted Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was killed in October near his hometown of Sirte after being captured by NTC forces.