Libya: Obama, Cameron and Sarkozy vow Gaddafi must go

The leaders of the US, the UK and France have said in a joint letter that there can be no peace in Libya while Muammar Gaddafi stays in power.

Barack Obama, David Cameron and Nicolas Sarkozy say Nato must maintain military operations to protect civilians and maintain pressure on Col Gaddafi.

To allow him to remain in power would "betray" the Libyan people, they write.

Signs of division remain within Nato, which is struggling to find additional combat aircraft for its strikes.

Late on Thursday Col Gaddafi's daughter appeared before cheering crowds and accused the Western leaders of "insulting" Libyans.

"To speak of Gaddafi's resignation is a humiliation for all Libyans," Aisha Gaddafi told young loyalists at a rally at the Bab al-Aziziya barracks in Tripoli, damaged in a previous round of air strikes against Libya back in 1986.

Earlier, Libyan TV broadcast pictures which appeared to show Col Gaddafi surrounded by cheering supporters as he stood through the sunroof of a car driving through Tripoli, pumping his fists in the air.

'Pariah state

The letter from the three leader was published in the UK's Times newspaper as well as theInternational Herald Tribune and France's Le Figaro.

The BBC's Paul Adams, reporting from Washington, says the letter is an unusual step at a time of unease over Nato's ongoing mission.

Only a few of Nato's 28 members - including France, the UK, Canada, Belgium, Norway and Denmark - are conducting air strikes.

The alliance's Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told foreign ministers at a meeting in Berlin he had received no offers from any ally to supply the extra jets, but said he remained hopeful.

Signed by US President Barack Obama, British Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, the letter says Libyans in cities like Misrata and Ajdabiya continue to suffer "terrible horrors at Gaddafi's hands".

While the coalition has no mandate to remove Col Gaddafi by force, "it is impossible to imagine a future for Libya with Gaddafi in power", the leaders say.

To allow him to remain in power "would be an unconscionable betrayal" of Libya's people, they argue, and would make Libya both "a pariah state [and] a failed state".

Nato pilots are enforcing a UN resolution to establish a no-fly zone and to protect civilians in Libya. The country has effectively been split between forces for and against Col Gaddafi since a revolt against his rule began in mid-February.

"So long as Gaddafi is in power, Nato and its coalition partners must maintain their operations so that civilians remain protected and the pressure on the regime builds," the letter continues.

"Then a genuine transition from dictatorship to an inclusive constitutional process can really begin, led by a new generation of leaders."

The letter holds out the prospect of reconstruction for Libya with the help of the "UN and its members".

But French Defence Minister Gerard Longuet, speaking on French radio, conceded that ousting Col Gaddafi would be "certainly" beyond the scope of the existing UN resolution, and could require a new Security Council vote.

New fighting

Fighting on the ground, as well as Nato bombing missions, has continued while politicians debate the way forward.

Rebels said a rocket attack in Misrata by pro-Gaddafi forces killed 23 people on Thursday, and there were new reports of rocket fire into the city on Friday morning. Neither account could be confirmed.

The BBC's Orla Guerin entered the besieged western Libyan city, visiting a hospital where staff were battling to treat civilians injured by mortars and rocket fire.

The intensive care unit was full of patients with multiple shrapnel injuries, including a six year old girl, our correspondent says. Doctors say 80% of those killed or injured in the city are civilians.

The hospital is struggling to keep pace with the attacks, and its emergency ward is a tent in the car park, she reports. Patients are rushed in and out to make way for new arrivals.

Medical supplies are coming ashore here but there has been heavy shelling in the port area, raising fears that Col Gaddafi wants to cut this last link to the outside world, she adds.

In Berlin, Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Nato would continue "day by day, strike by strike" to target Col Gaddafi's forces.

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Libya future with Kadhafi 'unthinkable': Britain, France, US

LONDON: A Libyan future including Moamer Kadhafi is "unthinkable" and would represent an "unconscionable betrayal" by the rest of the world, the leaders of Britain, France and the United States said Thursday. British Prime Minister David Cameron, France's President Nicolas Sarkozy and US President Barack Obama vowed they would "not rest until the UN...resolutions have been implemented", in a joint article published in several international newspapers. "It is unthinkable that someone who has tried to massacre his own people can play a part in their future government," the article, which appeared in the London Times, The Washington Post and French daily Le Figaro, continued. "The brave citizens of those towns that have held out against forces that have been mercilessly targeting them would face a fearful vengeance if the world accepted such an arrangement. It would be an unconscionable betrayal," the leaders argued. The publication of the article underlined US commitment to the UN-mandated operation against Kadhafi's forces, easing earlier tensions between members of the Western alliance. The three leaders promised that NATO and its coalition partners would "maintain their operations so that civilians remain protected" as long as Kadhafi was in power. "Britain, France and the United States will not rest until the UN Security Council resolutions have been implemented and the Libyan people can choose their own future," they promised. A failure to unseat Kadhafi "would condemn Libya to being not only a pariah state, but a failed state too", the three men warned. The letter was originally drafted by Cameron and Sarkozy following their meeting in Paris on Wednesday, but Obama asked to have his name added to the article after he was sent a courtesy copy. France revealed earlier Thursday that US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had rebuffed appeals for more assistance with the enforcement of the UN resolution authorising all necessary means to protect Libyan civilians. Washington pulled back around 50 combat planes from Libyan operations last week after handing over control of the mission to NATO, although since then they took part in some missions to take out Kadhafi's air defence systems. Clinton later told NATO allies: "For our part, the US is committed to our shared mission. We will strongly support the coalition until our work is completed." Backing up Clinton's promise, Obama's joint article stated it was the coalition's "duty and our mandate...to protect civilians". The article stressed the mandate was "not to remove Kadhafi by force" but added it was "impossible to imagine a future for Libya with Kadhafi in power". Britain and France on Wednesday agreed to step up military pressure on Kadhafi's regime after world powers meeting in Doha promised Libya's rebels cash and the means to defend themselves. Looking to a post-Kadhafi future, the leaders said they were "convinced that better times lie ahead for the people of Libya". After Kadhafi leaves, the three men predicted "a genuine transition from dictatorship to an inclusive constitutional process...led by a new generation of leaders. "For that transition to succeed, Kadhafi must go, and go for good," they concluded. Meanwhile, Kadhafi toured the streets of Tripoli on Thursday as NATO warplanes carried out a series of air raids that rocked the Libyan capital. In an open-top 4x4 wearing dark glasses and a hunting hat, Kadhafi hailed bystanders as he put on a show of defiance. (AFP)

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