Dubai, April 12: World leaders meeting in Doha tomorrow want Libya’s defiant leader Muammar Gaddafi out of power but the means remain unclear four weeks into a campaign of air strikes.
Outgunned rebel forces with the backing of Western air and sea strikes supported by Gulf states have held onto eastern Libya, yet they have failed to make significant inroads in the west, towards Gaddafi’s power base in Tripoli.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, in charge of military operations in Libya for almost two weeks, is sticking to UN Security Council Resolution 1973 which authorizes action to protect civilians in Libya but not regime-change.
Libya risks partition if Gaddafi survives, in the view of analysts.
“Arabs don’t aspire to the breakup of an Arab country.
–Agencies