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US rejoins UK, France in trying to force regime change in Libya

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

BLondon, April 15, IRNA -- The US President Barack Obama on Friday rejoined British Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Nicolas Sarkozy in expressing their determination to force regime change in Libya and going further than previous demands for a ceasefire.

“So long as (Muammar) 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 three leaders said in a joint article posted on Cameron's website.

“Colonel Gaddaifi must go and go for good,” in order for a genuine transition from dictatorship to an inclusive constitutional process to succeed, the article insisted, rejecting demands for an immediate ceasefire and a negotiated exit for the Libyan leader.

The joint call, published in Washington Post, the Times and Le Figaro, represents a return of the US to the forefront of the campaign in Libya, reversing Obama's earlier approach, which saw the US hand control to Nato and withdraw fighters just days after the military intervention began last month.

Despite the blatant call for regime change, the three leaders were cautious about the legality in international law of foreign countries imposing the transition of power in another country by military means.

“Our duty and our mandate under UN Security Council Resolution 1973 is to protect civilians, and we are doing that. It is not to remove Gaddafi by force,” their article insisted.

Nato has been appealing for more planes for its mission, but because it is divided on the use of military action, so far only Britain, France, Canada, Belgium, Norway and Denmark are conducting air strikes among its 28 member countries.

While the position of the US returning remains unsure, there has also been little support from Arab countries, with only Qatar and the United Arab Emirates offering planes.

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Islamic Republic News Agency/IRNA NewsCode: 30340111