It strikes me that NATO has renewed the military operation in Libya for another 3 months without regard to any possibility of dialogue, as called for by the UN and the Holy Father”, says the Apostolic Vicar of Tripoli.

“Around midnight, one o’clock, we heard the explosion of several bombs in the distance. They must have hit the barracks in Bab-Al Ziziya (Gaddafi’s residence). They always hit there, but I do not know how far they want to go, because, as I always say, bombing does not solve anything, ” said Giovanni Innocenzo Martinelli, the Vatican’s Apostolic vicar of Tripoli.

In recent days, the Coptic Orthodox church, which is located near a barrack was bombed, and suffered extensive damage: doors knocked down, broken glass. “We had a meeting attended by all heads of various Christian denominations present in Tripoli, to express solidarity with our brother Coptic Orthodox for the damage to his church,” says Mgr.Martinelli. “We are united to deplore the incident, but especially to pray, so violence calms down. We all ask ourselves a question: why is this happening? We were astonished by the failure of international diplomacy and, perhaps, by its prejudice that makes dialogue impossible with the leadership of Tripoli. ” NATO forces in the form of French and Italian air forces made significant air strikes on dictator Ghadaffi’s forces on June 4. This was the first time that helicopter gunships have been used in the widening conflict that as of yet shows no signs of an end-game. Read more