France and Britain have announced plans to send troops into Libya to help the rebels fighting forces loyal to Col. Muammar Gaddafi. France said earlier today it would join Britain in sending a small team of military liaison officers to Libya to advise the rebels on intelligence gathering, logistics and communications. The move is coming under criticism by some in Britain. Labour MP David Winnick said, “There is a danger of mission creep. There is a civil war in Libya and this is a big escalation of Britain’s involvement.” Meanwhile, the United Nations is appealing for a ceasefire in the city of Misurata, where at least 20 children have been killed in attacks by government forces. On Tuesday, the International Organization for Migration said it had run out of money to fund further evacuations of people trapped inside Misurata.

Jemini Pandya, spokesperson, International Organization for Migration: “We have no more funds at all anymore. We’ve run out of funds. We are now working on emergency reserves. And this is at a time when we know that there are 20,000 Chadians, including women and children, who are still stranded in eastern Libya; there are still 30,000 Chadian families, including women and children, stranded in Ghatroun; many, many thousands of migrants still in Tripoli, in Sabha and very many other places.”