Tripoli, April 08: In Libya, revolutionaries have rejected Turkey’s offer to negotiate a peace deal with embattled ruler Muammar Gaddafi after holding meetings with both sides.
Revolutionary forces spokesman, Colonel Ahmad Bani, says there will be no talks before Gaddafi and his family step down or leave the country, Reuters reported.
Turkey has held talks with envoys from Gaddafi’s government and representatives of the opposition.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Ankara is working on a road map to end the war in Libya. Erdogan said the plan includes a ceasefire and the withdrawal of Gaddafi’s forces from a number of cities.
“An actual ceasefire should be secured right away, and pro-Gaddafi forces should withdraw from the cities they are besieging in some Libyan provinces,” Erdogan said at a news conference on Thursday.
“Uninterrupted humanitarian aid should be provided to all Libyan brothers, without any discrimination and safe humanitarian corridors should be established for this purpose,” he added.
On Thursday, a NATO airstrike killed at least five opposition forces in the eastern city of Brega, marking the second deadly NATO strike on Libyan revolutionary forces in less than a week. Libyan revolutionaries have accused Western troops of siding with Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi.
Turkey has repeatedly voiced its opposition since the NATO airstrikes began. More than 500 Libyans have reportedly evacuated to Turkey.
Last week, protests erupted in Benghazi after Erdogan rejected armed support to the opposition forces.
The UN Security Council adopted a resolution that imposes a no-fly zone over Libya and allows for “all necessary measures” to protect civilians from attacks by Gaddafi’s forces last month.
However, scores of civilians have been killed in Western-led aerial and sea attacks on the North African country.
——–Agencies