Moscow, March 25 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Preventing deaths of civilians in Libya is an overriding priority for the international community, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has told his US counterpart Barack Obama.

The two leaders discussed the situation in the North African country on the phone Thursday, the Kremlin press service said.

"The Russian president emphasised the need to prevent deaths among civilians and said priority should be given to the goals set in UN Security Council Resolution 1973," it said.

The UN Security Council imposed a no-fly zone over Libya March 17, allowing "all necessary measures" to protect civilians from Muammar Gaddafi's attacks on rebel-held towns.

The operation to enforce the no-fly zone - codenamed Odyssey Dawn - is being conducted jointly by 13 states, including the US, Britain and France.

Libyan state television has reported that at least 100 civilians have been killed and over 150 wounded in the attacks.

Western warplanes have flown more than 300 sorties over the North African country and fired 162 Tomahawk missiles in the UN mission to protect Libyan civilians against government troops.