Moscow, March 25 (IANS/RIA Novosti) - Preventing civilian deaths in Libya is a top priority for the international community, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev told his US counterpart Barack Obama. The two leaders discussed the situation in the North African country over a telephone conversation on Thursday, the Kremlin press service said. "The Russian president emphasized the need to prevent civilian casualties and said that priorities should be set to achieve the goals of UN Security Council Resolution 1973," it said. The UN Security Council imposed a no-fly zone over Libya on March 17, authorizing "all necessary measures" to protect civilians from Muammar al-Gaddafi's attacks on rebel-held towns. The operation to enforce the no-fly zone – codenamed Odyssey Dawn – is being jointly conducted by 13 states, including the USA, Britain, and France. Libyan state television reported that at least 100 civilians were killed and over 150 injured in the attacks. Western fighter jets have flown more than 300 sorties over the North African country and fired 162 Tomahawk missiles in the United Nations mission to protect Libyan civilians against government forces.
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