OnIslam.net

DOHA – Divisions appeared among allies Wednesday, April 13, on how to resolve the Libyan conflict, amid calls for sending ground troops into the oil-rich Arab country to topple Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

"There are many other nations around Europe and indeed Arab nations who are part of this coalition,” British Foreign Secretary William Hague told Reuters.

“There is scope for some of them to move some of their aircraft from air defense into ground-strike capability."

Members of the international “contact group” on Libya met in Doha on Wednesday to discuss how to resolve the Libyan conflict.

But divisions surfaced among allies during the meeting.

The divisions revolved around arming anti-Gaddafi opposition and creating a fund from frozen Libyan assets to help the opposition trying to overthrow the Libyan leader.

Britain and France are increasingly frustrated that air strikes have neither tipped the balance of the war in favor of the opposition nor even ended devastating shelling of the besieged city of Misrata.

"It will end with the departure of Gaddafi, with a political process in Libya that's a more inclusive process," Hague said.

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe criticized NATO on Tuesday for not doing enough to stop the bombardment of the opposition-held port town, where hundreds of civilians are said to have died in more than six weeks of siege.

Britain and France, western Europe's two main military powers, are delivering most of the air strikes on Gaddafi's armor since President Barack Obama ordered US forces to take a back seat.

Other NATO countries are either keeping their distance from the campaign or enforcing a no-fly zone but not bombing.

Libyan state television said on Wednesday that NATO planes had bombed Misrata's main Tripoli street, scene of repeated battles between rebels and government troops.

It said people were killed, without giving details.

The Libyan broadcaster said alliance planes also attacked Gaddafi's birthplace of Sirte, east of Misrata, and Aziziyah, south of Tripoli.

Cracks

But a wide gap appeared at once between NATO hawks and doves.

"There is no case for the logic of arming civilians, according to the 1973 United Nations resolution," said Belgian Foreign Minister Steven Vanackere told reporters.

In another disagreement, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle voiced reservations about an Italian call to create a fund from frozen assets to aid the Libyan opposition.

"The question is, is it legal? The answer is we don't know," he said.

Britain's Hague called for a temporary financial mechanism to fund rebel government in the eastern territory they control, according to Reuters.

The opposition said they needed $1.5 billion in aid for civilians.

A spokesman for the opposition national council at the Doha talks said the coalition was considering supplying arms which should go to soldiers who have defected from the army.

The opposition only had "primitive weapons" taken from Gaddafi's troops, he said.

Hague also sought a clear statement from the ministerial group that Gaddafi must go, a demand reiterated in Doha by the Libyan opposition.

The group of international powers has struggled to reach a consensus on calling for regime change.

Opposition spokesman Mahmud Awad Shammam said the national council took a positive view of an initiative by Muslim NATO member Turkey for a peaceful transition in Libya.