Doha, April 14: A group of Western and Middle Eastern countries have urged Libya’s long-ruling dictator Muammar Gaddafi to quit power as clashes continue in the North African country.
“Gaddafi and his regime has lost all legitimacy and he must leave power, allowing the Libyan people to determine their future,” Reuters quoted the group as saying a final statement issued after a conference in Qatar on Wednesday.
The statement has also recognized the National Transitional Council, established by the revolutionaries in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, as “representing the aspirations of the Libyan people.”
The participants of the meeting, including France, Britain, Qatar, the UN, the Arab League, the African Union, the EU and the US, also pledged financial support for the opposition forces in Libya.
The group has also called on the Libyan regime to stop attacking civilians and to pull back its forces from towns they had occupied or besieged.
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani said the group will also provide the Libyan people with “material support” which could include arming the Libyan people.
The Wednesday conference was, however, overshadowed by divisions within NATO, where Britain and France are seeking more resources for their military campaign against Gaddafi. But Belgium has ruled out any plan for boosting air attacks or arming revolutionary forces.
Germany has said there is no military solution to end the crisis in Libya, while Italy has proposed creating a fund from Libya’s frozen assets to help the revolutionary forces oust Gaddafi.
With NATO-led war in Libya nearing a stalemate, a contact group has been formed to carry out mediation efforts to bring the current crisis to an end.
An African Union delegation first visited Gaddafi in Tripoli on Sunday after which the Libya ruler accepted a ceasefire. However, the revolutionaries that held a meeting with the mediation team in Benghazi said they would not stop their protests until Gaddafi leaves power.
Heavy fighting between revolutionary forces and Gaddafi loyalists continued on Wednesday at the eastern city of Ajdabiyah as well as the western city of Misratah. Libyan television also reported NATO air attacks on Gaddafi’s hometown of Sirte.
NATO airstrikes, authorized by the UN with the claimed purpose of protecting civilians, have proved counterproductive as they have raised civilian casualties in Libya.
On Tuesday, Libya’s National Transitional Council said at least 10,000 people have been killed and another 30,000 injured in clashes with pro-Gaddafi forces in the North African country, while 20,000 more are still listed as missing.
——–Agencies