Libyan South African Envoy Adds Voice To End Of Regime

Libyan South African Envoy Adds Voice To End Of Regime

The Libyan Ambassador to South Africa , Abdullah Al-Zubaidi has added his voice to calls on President Moammar Gaddafi to step down.

This is in response to rising political tensions backed by anti government protests across Libya .

Addressing newsmen in Pretoria , Al- Zubaidi said the time had come for the embattled Libyan leader to do the right thing by stepping down.

He said the Libyan people had been good to Gaddafi in the past 41 years and he should quit honourably now, rather than turn against the people.

Al-Zubaidi is the latest diplomat to have spoken out against the embattled Libyan leader who has vowed to fight till the last man standing.

Many Libyan diplomats have already resigned their appointments.

Evacuation

Meanwhile, South Africa has dispatched an aircraft to airlift its citizens stranded in Libya .

The aircraft, manned by the South African National Defence Force left the country on Friday night for Tripoli to evacuate about 40 of its citizens living in different parts of Libya .

Spokesman for the Department of International Relations and Cooperation, Clayson Monyela said they had been in consultation with the authorities in  Libya and the South African Embassy in Tripoli , to facilitate the evacuation before dispatching its aircraft.

Monyela said some South Africans had left Libya before the situation got out of hand.

About 1, 536 Nigerians returned to Lagos and Abuja from Libya on Sunday night. The first batch of 499 Nigerians arrived earlier on Sunday morning.

At least 1,000 people are believed to have been killed in nearly two weeks of violence, during which the eastern cities have been captured by anti government forces.

The UN estimates that about 100,000 people have fled anti government unrests in Libya over the past week. Many countries have continued to airlift their citizens out of Libya , some through Malta .

France Sends Aid

Prime Minister of France, Francois Fillon said France would send two planeloads of medical aid to the Libyan city of Benghazi , held by opponents of Muammar Gaddafi, marking the start of a humanitarian operation.

Fillon linked the aid mission to a wider effort by the French government to prevent an influx of immigrants from Libya across the Mediterranean , in the wake of an uprising that has shaken but not broken the rule of Muammar Gaddafi.

France and Italy have both expressed concern that a collapse of organised government in Libya could lead Libyans and migrant workers there to flee to the Southern shores of the EU.

"In a few hours two airplanes will leave for Benghazi at the request of the French government with doctors, nurses, medical equipment, and it will mark the start of a massive humanitarian aid operation for the people in the liberated territories," Fillon said in an interview.

Local authorities

Opponents of the Libyan leader have taken control of Benghazi , the country's second city, and leading citizens have set up committees to act as a local authority and run services.

Since the uprising against Gaddafi's rule erupted on February 17 , he has lost control of the east of the country, where Benghazi is located, and of several other major towns, though his loyalists still control the capital, Tripoli .

"We cannot ignore that there will be large migratory movements. The best way to avoid them is to help Tunisia succeed, to help Egypt succeed, to make sure the situation in Libya stabilises rapidly." Fillon said.

He also called on the EU to respond collectively to the risk of uncontrolled migration from North Africa to Europe , echoing the Italian foreign minister's warning of a potential humanitarian disaster.

President Nicolas Sarkozy, who on Sunday unveiled a government reshuffle aimed at giving more heft to France 's foreign policy, linked the Libyan situation and revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt to the threat of uncontrolled immigration.

The centre-right president, whose approval rating is wallowing near record lows, placed his chief of staff Claude Gueant in charge of France 's interior and immigration ministries to oversee a tougher approach to immigration before a presidential election in 2012.

COV/ Reuters/NAN/Margaret /Funke/Yinka