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    July 15, 2011

Turkey Hosts International Talks on Libya

   VOA News
   U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (2nd R), British Foreign
   Secretary William Hague (R), Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu
   and UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan (L) attend the
   Libya contact group meeting in Istanbul July 15, 2
   Photo: Reuters
   U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (2nd R), British Foreign
   Secretary William Hague (R), Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu
   and UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan (L) attend the
   Libya contact group meeting in Istanbul July 15, 2011.

   International talks on Libya have started in Turkey, where the United
   States is expected to strengthen its ties with opposition forces
   fighting to overthrow Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.
   Delegates of the Contact Group on Libya, including U.S. Secretary of
   State Hillary Clinton, will lay out plans Friday to increase support to
   the North African country's rebel Transitional National Council.
   Senior U.S. officials traveling with Clinton said Washington would
   enhance its relations with the council once it presents detailed plans
   for a democratic, transparent and inclusive government at Friday's
   meeting.
   Rebels advancing
   The talks come as rebels are advancing closer to Gadhafi's stronghold,
   the Libyan capital of Tripoli.
   On Thursday, rebel forces attacked the government-held coastal town of
   Brega, a strategic oil hub in the east of the country.
   Medical sources in nearby Ajdabiya said one rebel was killed and at
   least five wounded in the clashes as opposition fighters reported the
   first advances beyond the front line in weeks.
   Government claim
   A Libyan government spokesman said government troops had defeated what
   he called a "coordinated attack" by NATO forces and rebels. Moussa
   Ibrahim told journalists that opposition fighters backed by NATO air
   and sea forces had attacked Brega. He said the assault violated the
   alliance's U.N. mandate to protect civilians.
   Ibrahim's assessment could not be immediately verified, although
   Al-Arabiya television also reported that rebels helped by NATO
   warplanes had attacked Brega from land and sea.
   Meeting agenda
   Friday's meeting in Istanbul is the fourth international gathering on
   Libya since March, when the uprising began.
   The United States and a growing number of countries consider the
   council the legitimate representatives of the Libyan people but have
   yet to offer full diplomatic recognition. That step could eventually
   unlock Libyan assets frozen in the U.S. for the cash-strapped
   government-in-waiting in Benghazi.
   Washington and its NATO allies want Gadhafi to step down immediately to
   allow Libya to begin a democratic transition. They say their
   four-month-long campaign of airstrikes on pro-Gadhafi forces will
   continue as long as government troops keep attacking Libyan civilians.

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

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