Monday - May 30, 2011

DJMN: Gadhafi's "Reign Of Terror" Nearing End, Says NATO Chief


VARNA, Bulgaria (AFP)--Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's "reign of terror" is nearing its end, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Monday, as Libya braced for talks on an "exit strategy" for him.
"Gadhafi's reign of terror is coming to an end," Rasmussen told a plenary session of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's parliamentary assembly in the Bulgarian Black Sea town of Varna.
"He is increasingly isolated at home and abroad. Even those closest to him are departing, defecting or deserting. ...It is time for Gadhafi to go as well," he said.
His comments came as South African President Jacob Zuma was due to arrive in Libya Monday for talks that officials said would focus on an "exit strategy" for Gadhafi.
Rasmussen was also upbeat about the results of NATO's military intervention to enforce a United Nations-backed no-fly zone over the conflict-torn north African country.
"Our operation in Libya, Operation Unified Protector, is achieving its objectives and we are preventing Gadhafi from achieving his," Rasmussen said.
"In just two months we have made significant progress. We have seriously degraded Gadhafi's ability to kill his own people," he added.
He insisted on NATO's readiness to keep pressuring Gadhafi's regime as long as necessary.
"We will keep up the pressure until all attacks and threats of attack against civilians have stopped, until the regime has withdrawn its forces and mercenaries back to their bases and barracks, and until full, safe and unhindered humanitarian access is guaranteed to all those who need it."
But Rasmussen also highlighted the need to make use of military pressure as the basis for shepherding a long-lasting political solution to the crisis in Libya.
"It is clear that the crisis cannot be solved through military means alone. If we are to see genuine peace in the country, then a political solution will need to be found," he said.


(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 30, 2011 05:47 ET (09:47 GMT)