'Jordan sends jets to support Libya no-fly zone'

Fighter aircraft meant to protect aid flights into Benghazi and provide "logistical support," Jordanian press reports.

By REUTERS
Air strike on Libyan government forces 311 (R) (photo credit: REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic)
Air strike on Libyan government forces 311 (R)
(photo credit: REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic)
AMMAN - Jordan has sent fighter aircraft to a European air base to support a no-fly zone over Libya and protect humanitarian flights from the Arab kingdom, Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh was quoted as saying on Wednesday.
The Jordan Times newspaper quoted Judeh as saying that Royal Jordanian Air Force fighter aircraft landed at the base two days ago. He did not say how many fighter jets had been sent.
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The official Petra News Agency said Judeh told newspaper editors that Jordan was offering "logistical support for enforcement of the no-fly zone mandated by a United Nations resolution".
It said he told the editors that the fighter aircraft would also protect the aid flights, the first of which landed at Benghazi airport on Monday.
Qatar was the first Arab country to contribute planes to police the no-fly zone. Last Thursday a French armed forces spokesman said fighter jets from the United Arab Emirates had arrived at an air base in Sardinia to support NATO's Libya operation, meant to protect civilians caught up in a civil war between Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and rebel forces.