Report: Qaddafi Tries to Cut Deal with Rebels
CNN reports:
Moammar Gadhafi is trying to strike a deal with opposition leaders, saying he will step down as Libya's leader if they can guarantee him safe passage out of the country and promise that neither he nor his family will face prosecution, an official with the opposition said Tuesday.
Musa Ibrahim, a government spokesman, vehemently disputed the claim saying reports of negotiations with the opposition are "lies."
Despite government denials, a member of the opposition says it has submitted counter-offers with several demands. Among them is a stipulation that Gadhafi has to immediately concede he is not the ruler of Libya, said Amal Bugaigis, a member of the opposition group called the February 17 Coalition.
The devlopment comes as Libya enters its fourth week of bloody clashes Tuesday and there was little doubt that the situation had turned into all-out civil war.
Rebels have seized several cities from government control and the army has fiercely fought to reclaim some of them.
Death toll estimates have ranged from more than 1,000 to as many as 2,000. Thousands more have fled the country, prompting a human rights group to once again urge both sides to allow humanitarian aid in.
"Both the Libyan government and opposition forces need to allow unhindered access for aid organizations to assist civilians," Bill Frelick, refugee program director at Human Rights Watch said Tuesday. "People living in areas of heavy fighting in western Libya are now in dire need of medical aid and other assistance."
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