As Italy says it's ready to join operations in Libya, Russia has said the international military force has killed civilians and called on it to stop what it says has been "indiscriminate" force.
Russian's foreign ministry spokesman, Alexander Lukashevich said in a statement that the coalition of forces, including the UK, the US and France, had exceeded the UN mandate to approve a no-fly zone over the country.
He said the airstrikes had hit non-military targets in Tripoli and three other cities and he repeated the figures that have appeared on Libyan state television reporting 48 civilians dead and 150 wounded.
"In this connection, we are calling on the respective states to halt the indiscriminate use of force," Lukashevich said. Russia has also announced that it is evacuating some diplomatic staff and Russian citizens through Tunisia.
Along with four other countries – including China and Germany – Russia abstained from voting on the UN resolution that approved military action.
