Libyan rebels today rejected an African Union (AU) peace initiative after saying there could be no deal to end a two-month-old civil war unless Muammar Gadafy left power.
The initiative collapsed hours after South African President Jacob Zuma, head of an AU mission, said Col Gadafy had accepted the plan, including a ceasefire proposal.
As African presidents negotiated with the rebel leadership in their stronghold of Benghazi, residents said Government forces bombarded the besieged western city of Misrata where residents reported heavy fighting.
Western leaders also rejected any deal that did not include Col Gadafy's removal, and Nato refused to suspend its bombing of his forces unless there was a credible ceasefire.
Rebels in Misrata said Col Gadafy's forces fired Russian-made Grad rockets into the city, where conditions for civilians are said to be desperate.
Mr Zuma, head of an AU peace mission, said earlier today Col Gadafy had accepted a peace "road map", including a ceasefire, after talks in Tripoli.
The delegation of five African leaders arrived in Tripoli yesterday to meet the Libyan leader in an attempt to broker a ceasefire and a political resolution to the deadlocked two-month-old conflict.
Nato had said today it would continue to target Col Gadafy’s forces as long as they threatened civilians. Mr Zuma called on Nato to end airstrikes to "give the ceasefire a chance"
Nato air strikes once again pulled the rebels back from the brink of a significant defeat yesterday by stalling a government assault on the strategic town of Ajdabiya, the gateway to the revolutionaries’ de facto capital, Benghazi.
Air strikes destroyed a total of 25 tanks around Ajdabiya and Misrata.
Nato gave permission for the African leaders’ planes to enter Libyan air space yesterday. The aircraft were the first to land at Tripoli’s Mitiga airport since the international coalition imposed a no-fly zone over the country more than two weeks ago.
The AU initiative follows a proposal last week by Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan for a three-point plan covering a ceasefire, political negotiations and a humanitarian corridor.
Agencies