No ceasefire if Gaddafi stays, say Libya rebels

Opposition forces in Libya today demanded Colonel Gaddafi must step down before they agree to any ceasefire agreement.

Rebel leaders said they would consider peace proposals brokered by the African Union, which have been apparently endorsed by the Libyan government, but refused to accept any deal that would keep Gaddafi or his sons in power.

South African President Jacob Zuma, who met Gaddafi at the head of a delegation of African leaders, urged Nato to stop air strikes on government targets to "give the ceasefire a chance".

The meeting, which included four other African heads of state, took place at the Libyan leader's Bab al-Aziziyah compound in Tripoli.

Mr Zuma said: "The brother leader delegation has accepted the roadmap as presented by us. We have to give ceasefire a chance."

He was due to return to South Africa but the AU delegation is going on to the opposition city of Benghazi for talks with rebels.

The British-based representative of the Libyan opposition leadership, Guma al-Gamaty, said the rebels would look at the AU plan, but would not accept any deal designed to keep Gaddafi or his sons in place. Another rebel spokesman, Mustafa Gheriani, said: "The Libyan people have made it very clear that Gaddafi must step down."

Nato said it had increased the number of its air operations over the weekend after rebels accused it of responding too slowly to government attacks. The strikes outside Ajdabiya helped break the biggest assault by Gaddafi's troops on the eastern front for at least a week. The government forces launched an artillery and rocket bombardment, while soldiers, including snipers, broke through rebel lines and attacked opposition fighters.

A rebel fighter, Muhammad Saad, described seeing the bodies of four colleagues dumped on a roadside. He said: "Their throats were slit. They were all shot a few times in the chest as well. I just could not stop crying when I saw them. This is becoming tougher and tougher."

Ajdabiya has seen a week-long battle for the oil port of Brega, 45 miles to the west. Nato's commander, Canadian Lieutenant General Charles Bouchard, said: "The situation in Ajdabiya and Misrata in particular is desperate for those Libyans who are being brutally shelled by the regime."