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Ministers Gather in Qatar for Talks on Libya

   VOA News  April 13, 2011
   United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon (R) stands next to Qatari
   Crown Prince Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani (L) as they pose for a
   group photograph alongside other top delegates in the Qatari capital
   Doha where the international contact group meet

Photo: AFP

   United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon (R) stands next to Qatari
   Crown Prince Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani (L) as they pose for a
   group photograph alongside other top delegates in the Qatari capital
   Doha where the international contact group meeting on Libya is being
   held on April 13, 2011

   Diplomats are gathering in Qatar Wednesday to coordinate an
   international response to the Libyan conflict.

   The International Contact Group on Libya, meeting for the first time,
   will bring together Western and regional governments that have
   expressed support for the Libyan opposition.

   The rebels' Transitional National Council will attend the meeting, as
   well as, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

   Former Libyan foreign minister Moussa Koussa, who fled to Britain, will
   be in Qatar also and advise the group.

   A spokesman for the rebel delegation says it will accept nothing less
   than the removal of Libyan Leader Moammar Gadhafi and his forces.

   British Foreign Secretary William Hague said on the sidelines that
   pressure is increasing for Gadhafi's to step down.

   On Tuesday, both France and Britain urged the NATO alliance to
   intensify airstrikes against government forces attacking civilians.

   French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said NATO is 'not doing enough' to
   stop Gadhafi's forces from killing civilians in rebel-held areas. He
   said the alliance must do more to destroy Gadhafi's heavy weaponry
   targeting the besieged western city of Misrata. International aid
   groups are warning of a humanitarian crisis in Libya's third-largest
   city.

   Hague urged alliance members to increase the number of aircraft
   involved in the operation, as Britain has done.

   NATO rejected the French and British criticism. Brigadier General Mark
   Van Uhm said Tuesday the alliance is 'doing a great job' and protecting
   civilians with the assets it possesses.

   NATO took over command of the operation over Libya from the U.S. on
   March 31. The alliance has been enforcing a U.N.-authorized 'no fly'
   zone aimed at protecting civilians under attack by Gadhafi's forces. It
   is also conducting airstrikes in Libya.

   Government forces pummeled Misrata with rockets Tuesday, as witnesses
   reported casualties. Heavy fighting raged in Ajdabiya, the last large
   city on the road to the opposition's eastern stronghold of Benghazi.

   A NATO spokesman said Tuesday that alliance aircraft destroyed five
   tanks close to Misrata that were threatening the civilian population
   there.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
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