West, Arab nations, AU say Gaddafi must go

A group of Western powers and Middle Eastern states on Thursday called for the first time for Muammar Gaddafi to step aside, but Nato countries squabbled publicly over stepping up air strikes to help topple the Libyan leader.

In a victory for Britain and France, which are leading the air campaign in Libya and are pushing for an unequivocal call for regime change, the “contact group” of European and Middle Eastern nations, plus the United Nations, the Arab League and the African Union, said Gaddafi must go.

“Gaddafi and his regime has lost all legitimacy and he must leave power allowing the Libyan people to determine their future,” a final statement obtained by Reuters said.

This story is for NewsDay subscribers.