Libya rebels set conditions for any ceasefire

Libyan rebels fighting Muammar Gaddafi said on Friday they would agree to a ceasefire based on conditions including that the Libyan leader’s forces quit cities in the west and give the people freedom to speak out.

Libyan rebels fighting Muammar Gaddafi said on Friday they would agree to a ceasefire based on conditions including that the Libyan leader’s forces quit cities in the west and give the people freedom to speak out.
Mustafa Abdel Jalil, head of the national council in the rebel stronghold of Benghazi, also called for the removal of “mercenary” troops from the streets under any ceasefire.
“We have no objection to a ceasefire but on condition that Libyans in western cities have full freedom in expression their views,” he told a joint news conference with the visiting U.N. special envoy to Libya Abdelilah al-Khatib.
Abdel Jalil also said rebels would need weapons if Gaddafi’s forces did not stop attacking civilians, repeating calls for assistance to battle better-equipped forces of the Libyan leader. He also said rebels would not back down from their main demand that Gaddafi and his family leave Libya.

Source: Reuters