Libya: International community demands for political change

Libyan rebel fighters appealed for Western air strikes after a hail of machinegun and rocket fire sent them into a chaotic retreat from Muammar Gaddafis forces east of his hometown of Sirte. Rebels waiting on the open desert road leaped behind dunes and mounds of earth and shot at Gaddafi forces as they arrived. Opposition fighters pleaded for strikes as they fled the hamlet of Bin Jawwad, where artillery shells crashed thunderously, and raising plumes of smoke. Reports overnight indicated that the rebels were in flight from Brega and Ras Lanouf. World leaders meeting in London agreed that Gaddafi should step down but have yet to decide what additional pressure to put on him.US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met a Libyan opposition leader on Tuesday while Washington prepared to send an envoy soon to the opposition stronghold of Benghazi, officials said. The developments on the sidelines of an international conference on Libya mark an increase in US contact with the Transitional National Council (TNC), from whom US officials say they are trying to obtain a clearer picture. However, the United States has stopped short of officially recognising the body, which it hopes will further the aim of a future democratic Libya. It was Clintons second meeting with Mahmud Jibril, who handles foreign affairs for the TNC, following a first on March 15 in Paris where she was attending a Group of Eight meeting. Clinton was to seek Jibrils impression of the situation in Libya where rebels are beating back Muammar Gaddafi’s forces amid 11 days of allied air strikes and a no-fly zone that have grounded his air power.The Libya conference also agreed to set up a contact group, including Arab states, to give political guidance for the response to the war and co-ordinate long-term support to Libya. The Gulf Arab state of Qatar agreed to convene a first meeting as soon as possible.