Obama calls for loyalist forces to lay down their arms, announces the return of the US ambassador to Tripoli and pledges to help Libya rebuild.
By REUTERSBarack Obama (photo credit: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)
US President Barack Obama called on Tuesday for the last of Muammar Gaddafi's loyalist forces to lay down their arms as he announced the return of the US ambassador to Tripoli and pledged to help Libya rebuild. The president made his remarks at a high-level UN conference on Libya.Obama's message came as transitional government forces confronted stiff resistance in the last strongholds of Gaddafi loyalists and the provisional leadership faced questions about whether it can unify a country divided on tribal and local lines.
"Those still holding out must understand-the old regime is over, and it is time to lay down your arms and join the new Libya," Obama said nearly a month after Gaddafi was driven from power with the help of a NATO-led bombing campaign.Seeking to bolster Libya's new leaders, Obama said the US ambassador was now on his way back to Tripoli.
