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:
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-- 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
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