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End near for Gaddafi

Published:Tuesday | August 23, 2011 | 12:00 AM
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Gaddafi
Libyan rebel fighters seen in front of the burning car after they were attacked by the forces loyal to Moammar Gaddafi in downtown Tripoli, LIbya, yesterday.
A Libyan rebel fighter pours water on a burning car after they were attacked by forces loyal to Moammar Gaddafi in downtown Tripoli, Libya, yesterday. World leaders said the end is near for Gaddafi's regime and began planning for Libya's future without the man who has held power there for 42 years.
Libyan rebel fighters seek shelter after they were attacked by the forces loyal to Moammar Gaddafi in downtown Tripoli, LIbya, yesterday.
Libyan rebel fighters shoot towards pro-Gaddafi forces during fightning in downtown Tripoli, Libya, yesterday.
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  • World leaders planning for Libya's future without embattled leader

PARIS (AP):

World leaders yesterday predicted that the end was near for Moammar Gaddafi's regime and began planning for Libya's future without the man who has held power for 42 years.

They welcomed the rebels' dramatic advances in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, after six months of fighting, and urged Gaddafi to surrender and avoid a bloodbath. Hundreds of Libyans living abroad in the Middle East and Europe celebrated in the streets, taking over embassies, burning images of the Libyan strongman and hoisting rebel flags.

Though Gaddafi's whereabouts were not known, leaders were setting the stage for new leadership there.

Britain said its frozen Libyan assets would soon be released to help the country's rebels establish order; France announced plans for an international meeting next week; and Italy sent a team to the rebels' base of Benghazi to help plan reconstruction and the restoration of oil and natural gas production.

US President Barack Obama was scheduled to discuss Gaddafi's fall in a phone call with British Prime Minister David Cameron yesterday, the UK leader's office said. Cameron was also holding talks with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the leaders of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

Full retreat

"His regime is falling apart and in full retreat. Gaddafi must stop fighting, without conditions," Cameron said in London. He vowed that Britain and others would now assist Libya's "effective transition to a free, democratic and inclusive" nation.

Meanwhile United Nations Secretary General Ban ki-Moon and Cameron discussed plans for a new UN resolution on Libya.

The UN leader said he will hold meetings on Libya later this week with major organisations, including the Arab League, African Union and European Union. He urged Gaddafi's forces to stop fighting immediately and make way for a "smooth transition" that ensures a free and democratic future for the country.

Hundreds of people celebrated the advance of rebel troops into Tripoli early yesterday by staging a rally in front of the Libyan embassy in Cairo. In the northern Egyptian city of Alexandria, residents pulled down the green Libyan flag from a consulate building and replaced it with the rebel tricolor flag. Libyan expatriates also flocked to embassies in Turkey, Greece, Bosnia and Malta.