Italy insists on UN mandate for any Syria strikes

[August 27, 2013]  ROME (AP) -- Italy is insisting that any military strike against Syria for its alleged chemical attack on civilians must be authorized by the U.N. Security Council.

Briefing Parliament on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Emma Bonino called the chemical attack a "war crime" but said the government wouldn't support military action without Security Council authorization.

She said: "Italy will not take active part in any military action ... beyond the context of the Security Council, which for us is and remains the only point of legal reference that cannot be ignored."

Italy offered both military bases on its territory and its own aircraft for the 2011 NATO campaign in Libya.

[Associated Press]

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