AU summit vexed by Libyan crisis

Libyan rebel leaders attending the Africa Union summit in Equatorial Guinea as ‘special guests’ said that there was a wide feeling that it was time for Muammer Gaddafi to leave.

“Everybody is in agreement on the departure of Gaddafi. Some say it publicly, others don’t,” France-based representative of the National Transitional Council Mansour Safy al-Nasr told reporters.

African leaders sought backing and consensus for a roadmap out of the Libyan conflict at the summit yesterday.

Representatives of the Libyan regime who were also at the two-day summit have accepted the roadmap, which calls for a ceasefire and negotiations.

But the delegation of Libyan rebels were pushing demands that the veteran Libyan leader steps down.

Bombing campaign

The summit opened with African leaders critical of France’s supply of weapons to the Libyan rebels and of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant issued against Gaddafi.

They also spoke out against a Nato-led bombing campaign against Libyan forces that ostensibly is meant to protect civilians.

“It is undoubtedly on this crisis that our deliberations are expected,” AU Commission chairman Jean Ping said in his opening address to the meeting which was attended by more than 30 African leaders.

Mr Ping lamented the “suffering of the Libyan people because of the continuing clashes and the air bombing operations.”

Objections to international interference in Africa’s affairs and the sidelining of emerging nations was a key theme of the speeches at the meeting, with former Brazilian president Inacio Luiz Lula da Silva winning a standing ovation for his criticism.

ICC warrants

AU chairman and Equatorial Guinea president Teodoro Obiang Nguema echoed the sentiments and said “Africa does not aspire to resolve European, Asian or American problems.”

He also hit back at criticism of his government’s spending 600 million euros on building the the Sipopo city near Malabo where the summit was hosted.

Senior Libyan rebel leader Mahmud Jibril said in Vienna that he awaited “a clear stance” from the AU on whether they supported or condemned Gaddafi.

“The [ICC] warrants reflect the international conviction that massacres did take place [in Libya],” Jibril told journalists.

Tensions in Sudan and Somalia, where the AU wants to boost the number of troops in its peacekeeping forces and deploy helicopters, were also expected to feature in the talks.