Libyan Rebels Set Conditions for Cease-Fire
Libyan rebels move a roadblock at the western gate of Ajdabiya, Libya as limited movement is being permitted across the frontier, April 1, 2011
A Libyan opposition leader says rebels are willing to accept a cease-fire, if leader Moammar Gadhafi ends his military siege and agrees to allow anti-government demonstrations.
Opposition spokesman Mustafa Abdul-Jalil spoke in Benghazi on Friday alongside United Nations envoy Abdelilah al-Khatib who is trying to broker a political solution to the conflict. U.N. officials are demanding a cease-fire.
The rebels＇ offer comes as British media say an envoy of Gadhafi has visited London for talks with British officials.
The reports said the envoy, Mohammed Ismail, is a senior aide to Gadhafi＇s son, Saif al-Islam.
A British Foreign Office spokesman told The Guardian newspaper that a clear message was delivered that Gadhafi "has to go." The spokesman declined to comment further on contacts with Libyan officials.
The attempt at diplomacy comes after two high-level envoys from Gadhafi＇s government defected this week.
Opposition spokesman Mustafa Gheriani said Thursday that anti-government forces "believe the Gadhafi regime is beginning to crumble from within."
Ali Abdessalam Treki, a former foreign minister and U.N. General Assembly president, announced his departure Thursday on several opposition websites, and fled to Egypt. He said it is Libya＇s right "to live in freedom, democracy and prosperity."
Treki＇s defection follows that of Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa, who fled to Britain late Wednesday. Koussa was a long-standing confidante of Gadhafi and was described as one of the "pillars" of his government.
Libya＇s former deputy ambassador to the United Nations, Ibrahim Dabbashi, said more high-level Libyans could defect "within days." He said authorities have begun assigning guards to senior officials.
Troops loyal to Gadhafi have pushed back rebels from the oil town of Brega. But fierce fighting continued in the area on Friday.
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