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PARIS, March 20 (Reuters) - French warplanes encountered no opposition in enforcing a U.N.-mandated no-fly zone over Libya on Sunday, a defence ministry spokesman told a media briefing.
An armed forces spokesman said 15 French combat aircraft took part in allied patrols on Sunday but they did not have to fire at airborne or ground targets because they met no resistance.
"The reason why we have not made any strikes at this stage today is because as of yet today there have not been any threats to the population," Defence Ministry spokesman Laurent Teisseire said.
Asked whether a ground operation against Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's forces was possible, he said: "We are in an airborne operation. Nothing else is under consideration."
He said Qatar was deploying 4 French-made Mirage 2000/9 combat planes to join the allied mission, underlining Arab participation in the operation, and they would fly jointly with the French air force.
The aircraft carrier Charles-de-Gaulle, flagship of the French navy, left the port of Toulon on Sunday to take up position off the Libyan coast with its battle group including a submarine, half a dozen support ships and 15 fighter planes.
The French air force fired the first shots at Libyan tanks and military vehicles on Saturday after a Paris conference of Western, Arab and African countries declared that Gaddafi had ignored a U.N. call for a ceasefire and was attacking civilians.
(reporting by John Irish, writing by Paul Taylor)
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