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British Foreign Secretary Visits Libyan Rebels

   VOA News  June 04, 2011
   British Foreign Secretary William Hague (file photo)

Photo: AP

   British Foreign Secretary William Hague (file photo)

   British Foreign Secretary William Hague has arrived in Libya for talks
   with opposition leaders in the rebel stronghold, Benghazi.
   Hague is one of the highest-ranking foreign officials to visit the
   rebel-held territory. The foreign secretary said he plans to meet with
   leaders of the opposition's Transition National Council on Saturday as
   part of his efforts to "show support for the Libyan people." He is
   accompanied by British International Development Secretary Andrew
   Mitchell.
   Their visit to Libya comes at a time when NATO is employing new
   strategies for targeting installations linked to Libyan leader Moammar
   Gadhafi.
   For the first time, the alliance sent attack helicopters on
   low-altitude missions against military installations early Saturday.
   NATO said British Apache and French Tiger and Gazelle helicopters
   carried out the assaults. Military officials said about 20 targets were
   destroyed, including a radar site and an armed checkpoint, in the first
   deployment of the aircraft since British and French leaders approved
   their use in recent days.
   The commander of NATO's forces in Libya, Canadian Lieutenant General
   Charles Bouchard, said the successful assault demonstrates the "unique
   capabilities" of the attack helicopters. The use of lower-flying
   helicopters for attacks could diminish the possibility of civilian
   casualties, although they also could be vulnerable to strikes by
   surface-to-air missiles.
   Despite this increase in the military campaign, there are new
   diplomatic efforts to try to persuade Gadhafi to give up power. French
   Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said Friday that his country is working
   with those close to the Libyan leader to get him to leave.
   Russia is sending a special presidential representative, Mikhail
   Margelov, to Benghazi, to meet with the rebels.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.