Statement: Gadhafi OKs plan to end fighting; UNICEF reports kids dying By the CNN Wire Staff April 11, 2011 -- Updated 0958 GMT (1758 HKT) Click to play Libya opposition retakes eastern city
STORY HIGHLIGHTS * NEW: An African Union delegation arrives in Benghazi to speak with opposition leaders * NEW: UNICEF: 20 children have been killed by shrapnel or bullet wounds in Misrata * Memo: Gadhafi agrees to a cease-fire, political transition and international peacekeepers Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- Embattled Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi has agreed in principle to stop all hostilities in his North African nation and let in outside forces to help keep the peace, his government and African Union mediators said Monday in a joint statement. The announcement came the same day UNICEF released a statement saying at least 20 children -- including some as young as 9 months old -- have been killed from shrapnel or bullet wounds in the afflicted city of Misrata. Ramtane Lamara, the African Union's commissioner for peace and security, read off the agreement with Gadhafi early Monday, flanked by Libyan government spokesman Musa Ibrahim. The deal announced on Monday does not address whether or not Gadhafi will step down, nor is it binding. It does have four basic elements, according to the memorandum detailed by Lamara: Wife of abducted Briton in Libya speaks Graffiti artist killed in Libya Gadhafi visits school in Tripoli New NATO airstrikes in Libya -- An immediate end to all fighting -- Libyan authorities' cooperation "to facilitate the diligent delivery of humanitarian assistance" -- The protection of foreign nationals in Libya -- The start of talks involving various Libyan authorities, including opposition figures, with the aim of setting up "an inclusive transition period" to adopt and implement "political reforms necessary for the elimination of the causes of the current crisis" The agreement, which the statement said Gadhafi had signed off on, states that the final resolution must consider "the aspirations of the Libyan people for democracy, political reform, justice, peace and security, as well as social ... development." No timetable was spelled out as to when and if a cease-fire might take effect or the political transition might take place. In the agreement, Gadhafi does voice support for the "deployment of an effective and credible monitoring mechanism." "Leader Moammar Gadhafi expressed his full confidence in the African Union and its ability to successfully carry out the peace process in his country," the statement said. Following the announcement, the African Union delegation arrived in Benghazi on Monday to meet with leaders of the movement dedicated to ousting Gadhafi, who has ruled Libya for almost 42 years. The African Union's special committee on Libya has representatives from Mauritania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali, Uganda and South Africa. Gadhafi has been a strong supporter of the African Union and has channeled large sums of money its way. Libya also holds a seat on the 15-member Peace and Security Council, which Lamara heads. As such, opposition leaders had voiced skepticism that any mediation involving that multi-national group would not end the conflict in a way that would satisfy their goals, which include Gadhafi's ouster. The talks come as violence continues in the North African nation, where pro- and anti-Gadhafi forces have been engaged in bitter fighting since February. After a series of setbacks driven by the advances of pro-government forces, Libyan rebel fighters recaptured the besieged city of Ajdabiya over the weekend after apparently holding off Gadhafi's better-equipped forces. In Misrata, NATO airstrikes hit parts of the city over the weekend, destroying 14 tanks, said an eyewitness who did not want to be named for security reasons. NATO is operating under a U.N. Security Council resolution authorizing the use of force to protect Libyan civilians from attack. On Sunday, two rebel fighters died as they attempted to hunt down pro-Gadhafi snipers near the city center, another eyewitness said. The rebels were able to recover the bodies of 15 such snipers shot earlier Sunday. The snipers took positions on top of residential and commercial buildings, the witness said. At least eight people were killed and 22 injured from fighting Saturday between the pro-Gadhafi forces and the rebels, according to medical sources in the city. Shahida Azfar, UNICEF's regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, called for an immediate end to the siege of Misrata. "Until the fighting stops, we face the intolerable inevitability of children continuing to die and suffer in this war zone," Azfar said. CNN's Reza Sayah and Ben Wedeman contributed to this report ------------------------------------ Post message: prole...@egroups.com Subscribe : proletar-subscr...@egroups.com Unsubscribe : proletar-unsubscr...@egroups.com List owner : proletar-ow...@egroups.com Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/Yahoo! 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