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Moscow:
NATO actions preceding the death of former Libyan leader Muammar
Gaddafi should be scrutinised for their compliance with
international law, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said
Friday.
Gaddafi, who had ruled Libya for 42 years, was captured by
National Transitional Council (NTC) soldiers near his home town of
Sirte Thursday. He subsequently died of his injuries.
"We need to analyse NATO actions in terms of their compliance with
international law," he said in a radio interview, commenting on
the military bloc's air strike on Gaddafi's convoy.
NATO air force pilots did not know Gaddafi was in one of the cars
when they attacked a convoy of vehicles near Sirte Thursday
morning, NATO command said in a press release.
It was wrong to kill Gaddafi, Lavrov said.
"Under international law, international humanitarian rules are in
force during armed conflicts - and what is taking place in Libya
is an armed conflict. These rules are enshrined in the Geneva
Conventions of the 1940s," Lavrov stated.
These conventions say in no uncertain terms that when a
participant of an armed conflict is captured, special procedures
are applied to him or her, including medical aid if the
participant is wounded, the minister said.
"They should not have killed him," he emphasised.
The NTC has confirmed the death of the dictator, but the
circumstances remain unclear.
The Russian parliament earlier Friday rejected a call from the
Communist, Liberal Democratic and A Just Russia parties to adopt a
statement on Libya and express condolences over Gaddafi's death.
A number of Russian politicians lamented his death, with Liberal
Democratic Party of Russia leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky hailing the
Libyan leader as "an African Karl Marx, a Libyan (Giuseppe)
Garibaldi".
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