Libya: Gaddafi must step down, says 'contact group'
The newly formed international "contact group" on Libya has called for Muammar Gaddafi to stand down as leader.
It "affirmed that Gaddafi's regime has lost all legitimacy and he should leave and allow the Libyan people to decide their future".
The call came in a final statement read out by Qatar's crown prince at a summit on Libya in Doha.
Rebels seeking to topple Col Gaddafi made their first high-profile diplomatic appearance at the summit.
Giving the rebels military, political and financial support was discussed, as was Nato's role.
Earlier, delegates were told by UN chief Ban Ki-moon that more than half of the country's population might eventually require humanitarian aid.
Ahead of the meeting, the French and British foreign ministers said Nato should be doing more in Libya.
The "contact group" was formed at an international ministerial conference in London on 29 March and includes European powers, the US, allies from the Middle East and a number of international organisations.
In other developments:
- Loud explosions are reported in the Libyan capital Tripoli
- Five Libyan diplomats have been expelled from Germany for intimidating Libyan citizens living there, Berlin says
- Nato warplanes have attacked the Libyan cities of al-Aziziya and Sirte, Libyan state-run TV says
- Libyan rebels report heavy fighting in central and eastern Misrata, but say they are making progress against government troops
Opening the summit, the Qatari crown prince said that Libya was facing a humanitarian crisis.
He said: "The suffering of the Libyan people is not a natural disaster - it is the outcome of political decisions and political behaviour."
The crown prince said that by blaming extremists for the crisis, the Libyan government was "tarnishing the image of their people so they can remain in power".
"The Libyan people are not begging - they are a great people with great resources but they have been prevented from exercising their rights and developing their resources."
The UN secretary general told delegates that the humanitarian situation in Libya continued to worsen.
"Under our worst-case scenario, as many 3.6 million people could eventually require humanitarian assistance," he told delegates. Libya has a population of six million.
Mr Ban added that almost half a million people had left the country since the crisis began.
"On average, 2,700 people cross to Tunisia and Egypt every day. Roughly 330,000 people have been internally displaced."
Mr Ban urged nations to speak with "one voice".
Koussa's attendanceThe firm call for Col Gaddafi's departure went beyond the statement issued at the London conference setting up the contact group, which only that he had lost legitimacy.
Mr Hague said on Wednesday: "Any viable ceasefire, any viable peaceful future for Libya must involve the departure of Col Gaddafi so such statements may be clearer as a result of our conference."
He said Col Gaddafi's government was "internationally isolated", adding: "It has no future under some of the most sweeping sanctions that the United Nations has ever adopted and so the writing is on the wall for the Gaddafi regime."
Earlier this week the rebels' Transitional National Council (TNC) rejected the African Union's proposal for a ceasefire, because it did not provide for Col Gaddafi's immediate departure.
The TNC, which attended on the sidelines of the London conference, was invited to address the meeting in Qatar as it continued its campaign to gain international recognition as the voice of the Libyan people.
Among those attending the talks was former Libyan Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa, who fled to the UK late last month.
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