NATO dismissed an offer from
Muammar Gaddafi on Saturday for a ceasefire and negotiations,
saying Western air strikes on government forces in Libya will
continue as long as civilians are threatened.
“We need to see actions, not words,” a NATO official told
Reuters.
“NATO will continue operations until all attacks and threats
against civilians have ceased, until all of Gaddafi’s forces
have returned to base and until there is a full, safe and
unhindered humanitarian access to all people in need of
assistance,” he said.
The military alliance, fulfilling a United Nations mandate
to protect civilians during a bloody crackdown on an
anti-government rebellion in Libya, has in the past rejected
Gaddafi’s calls for truce.
“The regime has announced ceasefires several times before
and continued attacking cities and civilians … Any ceasefire
must be credible and verifiable,” the NATO official said.
He declined to comment whether NATO would be open to meeting
Gaddafi’s representatives for talks, if contacts for such talks
were made.
Gaddafi said earlier in the day he was ready for
negotiations provided NATO “stops its planes” but refused to
step down, which Western powers see as a precondition to peace
in Libya.
NATO has been in command of Western military operations in
Libya for a month, enforcing a no-fly zone over the north
African country and an arms embargo.
Its strikes on Gaddafi’s firepower have helped rebel forces
but failed to tip the balance in a bloody civil war so far.
On Friday, the alliance said Gaddafi forces had mined the
entrance to the western port of Misrata, where rebels have been
under siege for weeks and aid agencies say humanitarian
conditions are dire.
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