Libya Rebels to UN: Give Us No-Fly Zone

Moammar Gadhafi's jets rained down airstrikes on rebels again today, underscoring the Libyan leader's unmitigated dominance of the skies. Egged on by Libyan rebels who insist that threat needs to be curtailed in order to level the playing field, the AP reports that Britain and France today began work on a UN resolution to put a no-fly-zone into effect.

The rebels can take on "the rockets and the tanks, but not Gadhafi's air force," says a rebel fighter at Ras Lanouf. "We don't want a foreign military intervention (on the ground), but we do want a no-fly zone. We are all waiting for one." It's unclear what chance of success a no-fly proposal has in the UN: The Brits and French are saying their plan is being prepared on a contingency basis, and Russia, a member of the Security Council, has rejected the idea. The UAE's foreign minister, however, urged the Security Council to "shoulder its historical responsibility for protecting the Libyan people." (More Libya protests stories.)