Context
French officials confirmed that Britain and France would send their attack helicopters to Libya in the most recent attempt to provide a boost to the NATO campaign against Col. Muammar Qaddafi. Alain Juppe, French chief diplomat, said on Monday that the proposed use of gunship helicopters would be in line with the UN resolution that authorized the NATO military campaign to protect Libyan civilians. NATO warplanes have been targeting Qaddafi forces since late last month, but the attacks haven’t so far succeeded in breaking a deadlock between government and rebel forces. However, China and Russia are worried that these steps represents exceeding the mandate set by the UN resolution.
