Libya says telecoms staff to act shield against NATO

Libya said Monday that tens of thousands of telecoms workers would act as human shields to deter NATO strikes on communications infrastructure, which it said had inflicted serious financial damage.

Speaking to reporters at a government-organized news conference in the capital, a man who identified himself as one of more than 20,000 workers in the sector read a statement vowing to guard telecoms installations with their lives. Muammar Gaddafi's government says NATO's two-month campaign has gone beyond a UN mandate for civilian protection to target civilians and destroy infrastructure to pave the way for regime change and seizure of the country's oil wealth. State media have reported strikes on communications equipment and facilities throughout the NATO campaign, including facilities used by the country's two mobile phone service providers. Libya says the strikes have caused hundreds of millions of dollars of damage to telecoms installations.