LONDON, June 1 (UPI) -- British military operations in Libya are in line with the U.N. mandate prescribing military action to protect civilians, the British government said Wednesday.
British newspapers The Guardian and The Daily Mirror claimed to have evidence that former British soldiers were on the ground in Libya helping rebel forces in Misurata.
U.N. Security Council Resolution 1973 authorized military force in Libya to protect civilians from attacks by forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. The resolution contains language that prohibits occupation forces, however.
A spokesman for the British government said its operations in Libya were in accordance with U.N. resolutions, the BBC reports.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague in April said the government was sending a team of British military officers to Libya to advise the rebel-backed transitional council on military structure, logistics and communications.
Meanwhile, NATO forces announced they were extending military operations in support of the U.N. mandate for another 90 days, taking the operation into September.
"This decision sends a clear message to the Gadhafi regime: We are determined to continue our operation to protect the people of Libya," said NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen in a statement. "We will sustain our efforts to fulfill the United Nations mandate. We will keep up the pressure to see it through."
