French fighter jet fires on Libyan military vehicle

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French fighter jet fires on Libyan military vehicle

By Jamey Keaten, The Associated Press | The Canadian Press – 21 minutes ago

PARIS - A French fighter jet fired Saturday on a Libyan military vehicle, the

first reported offensive action in a international military operation against

Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's forces, a French defence official said.

French Defence Ministry spokesman Thierry Burkhard says the strike happened at

1645 GMT Saturday.

Burkhard says the target was confirmed as a military vehicle, but it was not

clear what kind. He said no hostile fire on the French jet has been reported.

It was the first reported offensive military action against Gadhafi's troops,

since the U.N. Security Council approved a resolution on Thursday, authorizing

operations to protect civilians in Libya.

France sent a dozen Mirage and Rafale jets Saturday to survey the one-time

opposition stronghold of Benghazi and the 150 kilometre-by-100kilometre no-fly

zone, Burkhard said.

" All aircraft that enter into this zone could be shot down, " he said.

The strike came less than two hours after top officials from the United States,

Europe and the Arab world agreed in Paris to launch a risky military operation

to protect civilians from attacks by Gadhafi's forces.

It also came after Libyan government troops forces attacked Benghazi earlier

Saturday, apparently ignoring a proclaimed cease-fire.

The United States, Britain, France and 19 other participants in an emergency

summit in Paris on Saturday " agreed to put in place all the means necessary, in

particular military " to make Gadhafi respect a U.N. Security Council resolution

Thursday demanding a cease-fire, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said.

___

Bordes in Paris contributed to this report.