All signs point to Kadhafi's defeat, US says

Libyan rebels sit on top of a pick-up truck
as they man a checkpoint at an area some
18 kms west of Ajdabiya
© AFP Gianluigi Guercia

AFP

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The White House on Tuesday said that Moamer Kadhafi is clearly losing his grip on power and on his way out after four decades leading Libya.

“Every metric is showing that the situation is moving against Colonel Kadhafi,” said White House spokesman Jay Carney.

“He controls less territory, (and) the opposition is on the offensive in a variety of areas of the country,” Carney said.

The Libyan strongman is also “cut off from fuel and cash,” and the international community “is moving to recognize the TNC.”

The United States and other Western and regional powers on Friday recognized the rebel Transitional National Council (TNC) as Libya’s legitimate authority.

US envoys meanwhile held a rare weekend meeting with regime representatives “to deliver a clear and firm message that the only way to move forward is for Kadhafi to step down,” a US official said in Washington on Monday, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Kadhafi said he will not bow under the pressure of NATO air strikes and the rebellion against him, insisting Tuesday that his loyalists would recapture lost territory.

Libyan rebels claim to have wrested control of the key refinery town of Brega from Kadhafi loyalists, though the regime denies the town had fallen.

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