Gates: Gadhafi killing civilians

MOSCOW, March 22 (UPI) -- Col. Moammar Gadhafi's forces are responsible for all or almost all of the civilian casualties in Libya, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Tuesday.

Gates, on a visit to Moscow, said he expects violence in the country to drop "in the next few days" as Libya's air defenses are damaged. He said coalition attacks have been aimed at air defense installations that are not in populated areas.

"It's perfectly evident that the vast majority -- if not nearly all civilian casualties -- have been inflicted by Gadhafi," Gates said.

Russian leaders' comments on Libya have been contradictory, The New York Times reported. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who is out of the country, said Monday the U.N. resolution authorizing a no-fly zone reminded him "of a medieval call for a crusade," adopting a term used by many Arab leaders facing threats from the West.

President Dmitry Medvedev supported the resolution, which Russian diplomats voted for, saying Gadhafi has attacked the Libyan people. Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov took an intermediate position, calling for a cease-fire while endorsing the resolution.