Italy said it would support an immediate suspension of hostilities in Libya Wednesday to allow aid into vulnerable areas including Tripoli in the latest sign of dissent within NATO over the conflict.

"We have seen the effects of the crisis and therefore also of NATO action not only in eastern and southwestern regions but also in Tripoli," Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini told a parliamentary committee meeting.

"I believe... an immediate humanitarian suspension of hostilities is required in order to create effective humanitarian corridors," while negotiations should continue on a formal ceasefire and peace talks, he said.

Frattini warned of "extremely grave humanitarian needs in many parts of the country" including in western Libya, and said he hoped a pause in the fighting would be "indicated as a feasible solution" by international organisations.

"I think it is legitimate to request ever more detailed information on the results" of the NATO mission, he added, condemning "the dramatic errors that hit civilians, which is clearly not an objective of the NATO mission."

Foreign ministry spokesman Maurizio Massari later explained that the minister's support for a suspension of hostilities was "a working hypothesis."

"It's not our proposal. If international organisations were to make an appeal or a proposal on this then we would consider it," he said.

Britain and France immediately ruled out any pause in the campaign, which began in March, while NATO said it would continue with air strikes.

"If we stop, countless more civilians could lose their lives," NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen said in a video statement on the NATO website.

French foreign ministry spokesman Bernard Valero told reporters: "We must intensify the pressure on Kadhafi.

"In the end, it would be the civilian population that would suffer from the smallest sign of weakness on our behalf," he said.

Despite repeated calls for unity within NATO, strains have begun to show in the alliance and Norway's recent decision to withdraw from operations sparked fears that others may follow.

"The alliance is coming unstuck," Natalino Ronzitti from the Rome-based International Affairs Institute, told AFP.

"There's an air of dissent from some members," he said.

As NATO admitted to bombing errors in recent days, Italy -- Libya's former colonial master and a cautious but important partner in the Libyan mission from the beginning -- said the alliance's credibility was at risk.

On June 1 NATO decided to extend its three-month mission until the end of September, despite warnings from US Defence Secretary Robert Gates that the alliance lacked assets and was over-reliant on American help.

Tensions within the Italian government have run high over the topic, with the small but influential anti-immigration Northern League calling on Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to halt Italy's participation in Libyan air raids.

Driven by an isolationist foreign policy, the League -- Berlusconi's coalition partner in government -- has said the campaign is not only a waste of money but risks making thousands of refugees flee Libya for Italian shores.

Franco Venturini, a columnist for the Corriere della Sera daily, said Frattini's comments on Wednesday "could be to keep the League happy."

"It's a small thing. Italy does not have the authority to ask for it. It's an irrelevant move," he said, referring to the idea of a pause in the conflict.

Berlusconi meanwhile defended Italy's role in the operation on Wednesday during a speech to parliament, saying: "Thanks to NATO action thousands of lives have been saved and entire cities have been saved from destruction."

He added however that Italy, which has offered use of its air bases to NATO planes for air strikes, shares "the concern of those who fear that Libya operations will be extended" beyond the current NATO deadline of September.

In Britain, senior army figures have warned that the Libya operations are demoralising personnel and that continuing air strikes beyond the summer would threaten Britain's ability to carry out future missions.

Prime Minister David Cameron on Tuesday insisted however that Britain would continue the operation "as long as is necessary."

US President Barack Obama is facing his own difficulties at home where members of Congress are threatening to cut off funding for the fighting, accusing him of failing to secure congressional authorisation for the mission.

Tweet

Related Links