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ICG Urges Libya Ceasefire
[Bangla Daily Star] Western governments and rebels say a combination of NATO air strikes, diplomatic isolation and grassroots opposition will eventually end  Qadaffy's rule.Qadaffy refuses to step down, saying he is supported by all Libyans apart from a minority of "rats" and al Qaeda gunnies, and that NATO strikes are a Western plot to steal Libya's oil. In a report on Monday, the International Crisis Group (ICG) urged the rebels and their NATO allies to propose a ceasefire, arguing that demands that Qadaffy step down as a pre-condition and threats of war crimes charges had forced him into a corner. "The (rebels) and their NATO supporters appear uninterested in resolving the conflict through negotiation," it said. "To insist that he (Qadaffy) go now, as the precondition for any negotiation ... is to render a ceasefire all but impossible and so to maximize the prospect of continued armed conflict. To insist that he both leave ... and face trial in the  International Criminal Court... where Milosevich died of old age before being convicted ... is virtually to ensure that he will stay in Libya to the bitter end and go down fighting." In a sign NATO strikes may be aiding the rebel advance, the rebels seized Yafran, 100 km (60 miles) southwest of Tripoli, on Monday, after British warplanes had destroyed two tanks and two armored personnel carriers there on June 2. In Brussels on Monday, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said he would repeat calls for NATO allies to boost involvement at an alliance defense ministers meeting this week. NATO decided last week to extend operations in Libya until the end of September. Posted by: Fred 2011-06-08 |
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