Zuma: Gadhafi Not Ready to Leave
Edward Yeranian May 31, 2011
Italy's Foreign Minister Franco Frattini has opened a consulate in the Libyan rebel stronghold of Benghazi, saying the regime of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi is over.
The Italian foreign minister told reporters Tuesday that the leader of the former Italian colony has lost his support base in Libya as well as international support.
Frattini arrived in Libya just after South African President Jacob Zuma wrapped up a trip to the country, saying Gadhafi is not ready to leave.
Zuma commented after returning home from meeting with Gadhafi in Tripoli on Monday. The South African leader was trying to broker a peace deal between the Libyan government and the rebels.
Gadhafi's demands
Zuma told Libyan media that Gadhafi wants a cease-fire to include an end to NATO bombing. Those are terms the rebels rejected last month after an earlier mission by the South African president. The rebels' central demand is Gadhafi's resignation.
In other news, the Italian coast guard says it rescued nearly 1,000 migrants who were escaping Libya's unrest. Officials say the migrants were rescued off Sicily's coast on Tuesday, after spending days adrift in an old fishing boat.
The coast guard says about 40 children were in the group of evacuees who were mostly from sub-Saharan Africa.
Libyan defectors arrive in Italy
On Monday, eight Libyan army officers held a news conference in Rome, claiming they are among about 120 soldiers who recently defected from Libya. The men read an appeal to fellow army officers and top police and security officials, urging them to abandon Gadhafi's government.
Earlier Monday, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Gadhafi is "increasingly isolated" at home and abroad, with close allies "departing, defecting or deserting" the Libyan leader.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.
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