Full Focus

U.S. flags are placed on gravestones of military veterans at the Cyprus Hills National Cemetery in New York May 27, 2012. REUTERS/Allison Joyce

Editor's Choice

Our best photos from the last 24 hours.  See more 

Most people in 23 nations back NATO action in Libya

Related Topics

NEW YORK | Thu May 12, 2011 1:54pm EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Sixty percent of people from 23 countries support NATO's military intervention in Libya, a poll showed Thursday.

The Ipsos poll found more than 70 percent support in Belgium, South Africa, Australia, India, France, Sweden and Canada for the NATO strikes on Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's military and command structures.

About two-thirds of people in Brazil, Japan, Spain, South Korea, Poland and the United States back the action, which began after the U.N. Security Council in March authorized a no-fly zone and "all necessary measures" to protect civilians.

And more than half the people in Germany, Britain, Hungary, Mexico and Italy support the NATO strikes, while Saudi Arabia was evenly split. Support was less than 50 percent in Russia, Turkey, Argentina and Indonesia.

Of the 11 NATO countries surveyed, only in Turkey did less than half the people support intervention.

Four months into a revolt against his rule, Gaddafi is holding doggedly onto power despite weeks of NATO strikes. The conflict has now entered a stalemate, with Gaddafi in control of most of the west of Libya, while the rebels are hemmed in to their stronghold in the east and a few pockets in the west.

Western governments say they are carrying out their military intervention in Libya to stop Gaddafi's forces killing civilians who rose up against his rule in a rebellion which took its lead from uprisings elsewhere in the Arab world.

Thousands of people have been killed since the civilian revolt broke out in late February.

Libyan officials deny killing civilians, saying instead they are fighting criminal armed gangs and al Qaeda militants. They say the NATO air strikes are an act of colonial aggression by countries that want to grab Libya's oil wealth.

More than 18,500 adults were interviewed online by Ipsos between April 6 and April 21 and the survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Eric Beech)
World
Libya
We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/
Comments (2)
cris_PT wrote:
Of the 23 countries questioned, 17 are not part of the intervening forces. How many of these even understand what’s happening in Libya? Do they even know what the TNC is? A huge propaganda war is at play. This poll is ludicrous.

May 12, 2011 3:02pm EDT  --  Report as abuse
remery wrote:
Someone should ask for their money back. Elected leaders are elected by votes, not polls and the only valid poll is the Libyan people. Libya is composed of indigenous tribes and Gaddafi cannot rule without their support and the rebels are such a small group they cannot win without the might of the Coalition and are not the majority. What possible legal basis, other than “might is right”, did the US, UN and NATO have to intervene in the internal affairs of a sovereign nation that did not represent a threat outsides its borders. Many more innocent people will die from this so-called Bungled humanitarian intervention into the affairs of a sovereign nation for oil than if they had just declared a war or stayed out.

Presently the rebel leaders are in the UK and among other things want their WAGES paid. If they are receiving US Bankers salaries with a bonus to wrap it by Memorial day, my Congressman will hear about it

May 12, 2011 3:59pm EDT  --  Report as abuse
This discussion is now closed. We welcome comments on our articles for a limited period after their publication.
See All Comments »