World calls for surrender to avoid bloodbath

WORLD leaders said yesterday the end is near for Muammar Gaddafi’s regime and began planning for Libya’s future without the man who has held power there for 42 years.

Leaders across Europe welcomed the rebels’ dramatic advances in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, after six months of fighting, and urged Gaddafi to surrender to avoid a bloodbath.

Though Gaddafi’s whereabouts were not known, leaders were already setting the stage for new leadership. Britain said its frozen Libyan assets would soon be released to help the country’s rebels establish order; France announced plans for an international meeting next week; and Italy sent a team to Benghazi to help plan reconstruction and the restoration of oil and natural gas production.