Reply #87: Cameron, Sarkozy visit Libya; peace still far off

[pinboy3niner]

Matthew Weaver and Paul Owen post on The Guardian's Live Blog:


Reuters has more on Cameron and Sarkozy's trip to Libya, which it describes as their "victory lap".

Both leaders are hugely popular on the streets of Libya, where "Merci Sarkozy" and "Thank you Britain" are common graffiti slogans. Both may hope to earn political dividends back home from what now appears to have been a successful bet.

But on the eve of their visit, the leader of Libya's National Transitional Council said heavy battles lie ahead against Gaddafi loyalists who have refused to surrender.

National Transitional Council vice chairman Abdel Hafiz Ghogo told Reuters the two leaders would visit both Tripoli and Benghazi, where the NTC rulers are still based even though Gaddafi opponents seized the capital more than three weeks ago.

Reuters also reports that Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected in Libya on Friday with Egypt's foreign minister, Mohammed Kamel Amr.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2011/sep/15/libya-world-leaders-visit-tripoli#block-2