Arab League head raises Libya doubts

The head of the Arab League has voiced reservations about the Nato campaign in Libya, days after Nato admitted that it may have been responsible for killing civilians in an air strike.

Amr Moussa, also a leading candidate to become Egypt's President, said: "When I see children being killed, I must have misgivings. That's why I warned about the risk of civilian casualties." In an interview with The Guardian, Mr Moussa also raised doubts that a military campaign could be successful. "Now is the time to do whatever we can to reach a political solution," he said.

Meanwhile, Nato confirmed yesterday that it had lost one of its unmanned drones over Libya, but denied reports that Colonel Gaddafi's forces had shot down an Apache attack helicopter.

Libyan state television broadcast images of what appeared to be aircraft wreckage, including a red rotor and close-ups of markings in English. It quoted an unnamed Libyan military official saying a Nato Apache was downed in Zlitan, 85 miles east of Tripoli. The report claimed it was the fifth Apache to be brought down.

A Nato spokesman said the alliance lost radar contact with an unmanned helicopter surveillance drone yesterday morning and is looking into the incident. He said Nato had not lost any attack helicopters in its Libya mission. It was unclear whether ground fire or mechanical failure downed the drone.