No 10 rejects allies' call for Libya ceasefire

Downing Street today dismissed a call from key allies Italy and the Arab League for a ceasefire in Libya.

A split emerged in the Nato campaign after Italian foreign minister Franco Frattini urged a "suspension of hostilities" to allow humanitarian aid to get through.

But a No 10 official told the Evening Standard: "Aid is already getting through thanks to our actions to protect people in Misrata and other areas. We have a clear mandate from the United Nations and the action we are taking is effective in bringing pressure to bear on the Gaddafi regime."

Italy is the main base for British warplanes policing the no-fly zone over Libya and attacking Colonel Gaddafi's forces. Concerns about the Nato bombing campaign came after a number of civilians were killed by air strikes in recent days and as the US Senate debated measures which would extend American military intervention in Libya from three months to up to a year.

Mr Frattini told the lower house of parliament: "With regard to Nato, it is fair to ask for increasingly detailed information on results as well as precise guidelines on the dramatic errors involving civilians," he added.

His call echoed that of Amr Moussa, the Arab League head who is a leading candidate to become Egypt's president. "When I see children being killed, I must have misgivings," he said. "Now is the time to do whatever we can to reach a political settlement. That has to start with a genuine ceasefire under international supervision."

Nato admitted this week that a faulty missile killed nine civilians, including children, in Tripoli. The Libyan regime has claimed another 15 civilians were killed in an attack on a compound west of Tripoli that the alliance confirmed it had targeted.

The rebel leadership in Benghazi has made clear that Gaddafi's removal is a precondition to any negotiated settlement of the war.