[ 2011-07-01 ]

Kadhafi's departure dominates African Union summit
MALABO (AFP) - African Union talks on a plan to
end the Libyan conflict were suspended early
Friday with no agreement as the rebels insisted
that Moamer Kadhafi had to quit for any attempt at
a political solution.

African leaders sought backing for their roadmap
at closed door talks on the first day Thursday of
their summit in the Equatorial Guinea capital,
where delegations from the rebels and Kadhafi's
regime were present.

The meeting broke up at about 1:00 am and was due
to convene again at 10:00 am (0900 GMT), officials
said.

The plan envisages a ceasefire, humanitarian aid,
a transition period, reforms towards democracy and
elections, but the details and the position of
Kadhafi have not been made clear.

The rebels insisted outside of the talks that
Kadhafi had to quit after more than 30 years in
power. "He must leave," National Transitional
Council representative Mansour Safy Al-Nasr told
journalists.

Asked if he thought the conflict would be ended
through a political or a military means, he said:
"We are ready for anything."

The rebels were prepared to end hostilities if
Kadhafi left, he said.

"If we see that Kadhafi withdraws, we are ready to
stop and negotiate with our brothers who are
around Kadhafi," he said.

But the rebels would not retreat, "not this time",
he said.

"If military operations advance to surround
Tripoli, he will accept (to leave). Kadhafi is
isolated. He is in his bunker. He cannot move, he
does not have a life," Al-Nasr said.

"The troops are advancing," he added, referring to
Libyan rebel forces.

Al-Nasr said Thursday there was broad agreement at
the summit that Kadhafi had to go. "Some say it
publicly, others don't," he told AFP.

Senior Libyan rebel leader Mahmud Jibril said in
Vienna meanwhile he awaited "a clear stance" from
the African Union on whether it supported or
condemned Kadhafi.

The International Criminal Court issued an arrest
warrant for the Libyan leader last week for
atrocities in the crackdown on the uprising
against the regime.

"These arrest warrants reflect the international
conviction that massacres did take place," Jibril
told journalists. "I urge the African Union to
take a clear stance," he said.

The African Union has said the warrant complicated
its attempts to find a way out of the conflict.

It has also been critical of France's supply of
weapons, adding to early complaints about NATO-led
bombing campaign against Libyan forces that is
meant to protect civilians.

The African Union must bear in mind in its talks
the "suffering of the Libyan people because of the
continuing clashes and the air bombing
operations," African Union Commission chairman
Jean Ping said at the start of the summit.

After France announced Wednesday that it had
air-dropped arms to anti-Kadhafi rebels, Ping
warned of weapons falling into the hands of
Al-Qaeda who could use them to take Western
hostages, and of the conflict growing to reach the
level of the one in Somalia.

It was a warning echoed by the United States and
European Union.

Source - AFP

... go Back