By IANS,
Brussels : A number of civilians have been killed in one of its air strikes in Tripoli, Libya, Saturday night, NATO has admitted, Xinhua reported Monday.
The North Atlantic defence organisation said the incident may have been casued by “a weapon system failure”.
“A military missile site was the intended target of air strikes in Tripoli last night. However, it appears that one weapon did not strike the intended target and that there may have been a weapons system failure which may have caused a number of civilian casualties,” the military alliance said in a statement Sunday.
Libyan Foreign Minister Abdelati Obeidi said Sunday that a NATO strike had hit a civilian house in Tripoli, killing nine residents and wounding 18 others.
“NATO regrets the loss of innocent civilian lives,” said Lieutenant General Charles Bouchard, commander of NATO’s mission in Libya.
“Although we are still determining the specifics of this event, indications are that a weapons system failure may have caused this incident,” he added.
This is the first time that NATO has acknowledged its military campaign in Libya caused civilian casualties.
NATO took over full command and control of military operations against Libya from the US March 31, following the UN Security Council resolution, which called for imposing a no-fly zone over Libya and authorised “all necessary measures” to protect civilians in Libya.