African mediators in Libya as NATO hits tanks
A high-ranking African Union delegation arrived in Libya earlier to try to broker a truce between Muammar al-Gaddafi and rebels seeking to oust him, with NATO warplanes still in action against regime forces in the stricken port city of Misrata and Ajdabiya in the east.
Gaddafi's delegation accepted the AU's proposals, added Zuma, who was set to leave Libya Sunday though other members of the AU delegation would be staying in Tripoli overnight before travelling west to
rebel-held Benghazi, 1,000 kilometres (600 miles) east of Tripoli.
"We also in this communique are making a call on NATO to cease the bombings to allow and to give a ceasefire a chance," Zuma stressed.
So far, the leaders of the uprising have rejected any ceasefire plan which involves leaving either Gaddafi or his sons in power.
In addition to Zuma, the AU delegation includes three other African leaders: Mali's Amadou Toumani Toure, Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz of Mauritania and Congo's Denis Sassou Nguesso.
The African mediators were welcomed to Tripoli by Gaddafi supporters holding the veteran Libyan leader's picture and waving the green flags of his regime.
They joined the embattled Gaddafi for a photocall outside the Bedouin tent in his Bab al-Aziziya compound before being driven by minibus to greet a crowd of his supporters and then leaving for an undisclosed destination.
The opposition has already said it rejects any ceasefire that would mean Gaddafi or his sons stay in power.
Earlier, the AU mediators reiterated their appeal for "an immediate end to all hostilities" and proposed a transition period to adopt reforms in the insurrection-hit country.
Britain's former premier Tony Blair earlier Sunday told CNN Gaddafi should not be underestimated.
"Whatever people say about being delusional and so forth, he's kept that grip there for 40 years," Blair said on the channel's "State of the Union" programme.
In Brussels, NATO said it had hit at least 26 regime tanks near Misrata and Ajdabiya.
After destroying 14 tanks around Misrata early in the day, warplanes struck more tanks and anti-aircraft guns in the late afternoon, a NATO official said on condition of anonymity.
Near Ajdabiya, alliance aircraft blasted 11 tanks in the morning and struck one more tank and three military vehicles in the evening.
The alliance had already taken out 15 tanks near Misrata on Friday and Saturday.
"The pressure continues as NATO strikes go on day and night," the official said.
Earlier, the NATO operation's commander Lieutenant General Charles Bouchard said: "The situation in Ajdabiya, and Misrata in particular, is desperate for those Libyans who are being brutally shelled by the regime.
"To help protect these civilians we continue to strike these forces hard..." he said in a statement.
"We are hitting the regime logistics facilities as well as their heavy weapons because we know Gaddafi is finding it hard to sustain his attacks on civilians."
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