LEADERS OF five African countries arrived in Tripoli yesterday to meet Libyan leader Muammar Gadafy in an attempt to broker a ceasefire and a political resolution to the deadlocked two-month-old conflict.
The African Union delegation, led by South African president Jacob Zuma was then due to fly on to Benghazi, the heartland of the rebels, to press for a diplomatic settlement.
The initiative came as Nato air strikes once again pulled the rebels back from the brink of a significant defeat 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 the besieged western city of Misurata.
Nato gave permission for the African leaders’ planes to enter Libyan airspace. 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.
Several hundred Libyan civilians and military personnel gathered to greet the delegation with an eclectic mix of tribal singing and dancing, bagpipes, brass band and the ubiquitous loyalist chant of “Allah, Muammar, Libya wa bas [that’s all we need]”.
Mr Zuma, who arrived aboard a South African air force plane, made no comment before leaving in an armoured convoy.
Earlier, a statement from the African Union delegation said its objective was to bring military operations in Libya to an end and to mediate between the regime and the opposition on a political resolution.
“We hope that mediation will lead to a constructive dialogue for a political settlement of the crisis based on the aspirations of the Libyan people,” said Mauritanian president Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz.
The other members of the team are the presidents of Congo-Brazzaville, Mali and Uganda.
The African Union initiative follows a proposal last week by the Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, for a three-point plan covering a ceasefire, political negotiations and a humanitarian corridor.
However, opposition forces insist they will not consider any political deal that involves Col Gadafy or members of his family retaining power. Proposals put forward by the regime so far have included Col Gadafy or one of his sons overseeing political change in Libya. It is far from clear how this gap could be bridged.
Nato said its forces yesterday destroyed 11 tanks around Ajdabiya and 14 tanks on the outskirts of Misurata, the sole rebel-dominated town in the west of the country, host to fierce fighting for about six weeks.
“The situation in Ajdabiya and Misurata in particular is desperate for those Libyans who are being brutally shelled by the [Gadafy] regime,” said Lieut Gen Charles Bouchard, the Canadian commander of Nato’s Libya operations.
A Red Cross ship docked in Misurata at the weekend, bringing medical supplies to civilians in the besieged port city, about 160km (99 miles) from Tripoli.
The air strikes on Ajdabiya, 150km from Benghazi, helped reverse days of setbacks for the rebels which saw Gadafy’s forces fight their way in to the heart of the town on Saturday.
– (Guardian service)