Allies say Libya campaign on until Gaddafi goes

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110415/wl_nm/us_libya

Allies say Libya campaign on until Gaddafi goes

By Mussab al-Khairalla Mussab Al-khairalla – Thu Apr 14, 8:28 pm ET

TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Leaders of Britain, France and the United States vowed on

Friday to keep up their military campaign in Libya until Muammar Gaddafi leaves

power, and rebels said his forces pounded the city of Misrata with missiles.

In a strongly worded, jointly written article published in newspapers on both

sides of the Atlantic, British Prime Minister Cameron, French President

Nicolas Sarkozy and President Barack Obama said leaving Gaddafi in power would

be an " unconscionable betrayal " of the Libyan people.

" It is unthinkable that someone who has tried to massacre his own people can

play a part in their future government, " the leaders wrote.

" 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, " they said.

" Then a genuine transition from dictatorship to an inclusive constitutional

process can really begin, led by a new generation of leaders. For that

transition to succeed, Colonel Gaddafi must go, and go for good. "

The reaction from the Gaddafi camp was swift in coming as the Libyan leader's

daughter Aisha told a rally in Tripoli, at a family compound bombed by the

Americans in 1986, that demanding her father's departure was an insult to the

Libyan people.

" Talk about Gaddafi stepping down is an insult to all Libyans because Gaddafi is

not in Libya, but in the hearts of all Libyans, " she said in a speech broadcast

live on Libyan television to mark the 25th anniversary of American strikes on

the huge complex, which includes military barracks.

The article by the Western allies appeared at a time when diplomatic efforts

have failed to paper over divisions between NATO allies about how intensively

they should prosecute the three-week-old air war, and the situation on the

ground has shown signs of stalemate.

Washington, which led the campaign in its first week, has since turned over

command to NATO and taken a back seat role. Britain and France complain that

other NATO allies have not provided enough fire power to take out Gaddafi's

armor and allow the rebels in control of the east to sweep him from power.

Libyan rebels begged on Thursday for more air strikes and said they faced a

massacre from government forces, who blasted the besieged city of Misrata with

missiles.

NATO planes bombed targets in the capital Tripoli, where state television showed

footage of a defiant Gaddafi cruising through the streets in a green safari

jacket and sunglasses, pumping his fists and waving from an open-top vehicle.

" MEDIEVAL SIEGE "

Rebels said a hail of rockets fired by besieging forces into a residential

district of Misrata, Libya's third largest city, had killed 23 civilians, mostly

women and children.

" Over 200 Grad missiles fell on the port area, including residential

neighborhoods near the port. They shelled this area because the port is

Misrata's only window to the outside world, " a rebel spokesman using the name

Ghassan said by telephone.

" The destruction there was huge. I was there and saw for myself, " he said,

adding that the port had been shut.

In their article, the U.S., British and French leaders said Misrata was

" enduring a medieval siege as Gaddafi tries to strangle its population into

submission. "

Aid organizations warn of a humanitarian disaster in the city, the lone major

rebel bastion in western Libya, where hundreds of civilians are said to have

died in a six-week siege.

NATO foreign ministers in Berlin promised on Thursday in a joint declaration to

provide " all necessary resources and maximum operational flexibility " for the

air campaign to maintain a " high operational tempo against legitimate targets. "

But several allies rebuffed calls from France and Britain to contribute more to

the air attacks, conducted under a United Nations mandate to protect civilians.

British Foreign Secretary Hague said after the Berlin meeting he was

hopeful more countries would contribute to the strike force. " It's not

unreasonable to ask other nations...to make additional contributions, " he said.

Spain said it had no plan to join the seven NATO states that have conducted

ground strikes. Italy, Libya's former colonial power, expressed reluctance to

launch attacks.

(Writing by Graff; editing by Roddy)