NATO must do more in Libya, minister says

TRIPOLI, Libya, April 12 (UPI) -- France urged NATO to beef up its airstrikes on forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi Tuesday, saying the alliance must do more to protect Libyans.

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said the military alliance wasn't doing enough to protect Libyan civilians after it took over control the air campaign from the United States eight days ago, The New York Times reported.

"NATO must play its role in full," Juppe said a radio interview in France. "It wanted to take the operational lead, we accepted that. It must play its role today, which means preventing Gadhafi from using heavy weapons to bomb populations."

Juppe's remarks came the day after rebel leaders dismissed an African Union cease-fire plan, saying it didn't meet their basic requirement that Gadhafi, his sons and close advisers leave. Gadhafi reportedly accepted the truce proposition.

In Benghazi, headquarters for opposition leaders and rebels seeking Gadhafi's ouster after more than four decades of rule, said the Libyan leader could not play a role in the country's future or in negotiating a settlement.

"We will not negotiate with the blood of our martyrs," said Mustafa Abdul Jalil, the rebel national council chairman. "We will die with them or be victorious."

In Washington, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reiterated the Obama administration's call for Gadhafi to leave the country, the Times said.

"We believe, too, that there needs to be a transition that reflects the will of the Libyan people and the departure of Gadhafi from power and from Libya," Clinton said.

She said the United States would welcome a cease-fire, but only with conditions that included pro-

Gadhafi forces pulling back "from the areas that they have forcibly entered," restoration of basic services and distribution of humanitarian aid to Libyans.

Finland's foreign minister, Alexander Stubb, who appeared with Clinton at the State Department, said the European Union was preparing for assistance to Libya under a new government.

"There is going to be life after Gadhafi, and the European Union should prepare for that," he said.