40 civilians dead in Tripoli strikes: Vatican official

By Silvia Aloisi

ROME (Reuters) - At least 40 civilians have been killed in air strikes by Western forces on Tripoli, the top Vatican official in the Libyan capital said on Thursday, citing what he called reliable sources in close contact with residents.

"The air strikes are meant to protect civilians, but they are killing dozens of civilians," Bishop Giovanni Innocenzo Martinelli, the apostolic vicar of Tripoli, told Reuters by phone.

"In the Tajoura neighbourhood, around 40 civilians were killed, and a house with a family inside collapsed," he said.

"In the Buslim neighbourhood, due to the bombardments, a civilian building came down, although it is not clear how many people were inside."

NATO said it was investigating Martinelli's report but had no confirmation of civilian casualties in Tripoli.

Martinelli earlier told Catholic news agency Fides that the 40 civilians were killed in Buslim, but he later corrected the district to Tajoura, saying he had confused the names of the two neighbourhoods.

He said his information on the killings came from "people who work with us, who have many contacts with residents, who are on the ground and know the situation very well.

"I rule out that they could be giving me the official line on this," he said. "I have not seen it myself but these are people that I know well."