Dubai: World leaders are meeting in Doha on Wednesday to discuss ways to end the impasse in Libya as a defiant Muammar Gaddafi holds on to power four weeks into a campaign of UN-approved air strikes.
Qatari Prime Minister Shaikh Hamad Bin Jasem Bin Jabr Al Thani and British Foreign Secretary William Hague will co-chair the Libya Contact Group meeting with the rebels' National Transitional Council participating.
In focus: Unrest in the Middle East
French Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said France would welcome the council playing a bigger role at the meeting of around 20 countries, at foreign minister level, and in international bodies.
The forum comes in the wake of a top rebel official claiming on Tuesday that Gaddafi's forces have killed 10,000 people, and 20,000 are missing and 30,000 wounded.
Speaking after talks with EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg, Ali Al Isawi, a representative of the National Transitional Council, said: "We want more efforts regarding protection of civilians against this aggression."
The Doha forum is being held to discuss "the situation in Libya and support the people of Libya," according to the official agenda.
Former Libyan foreign minister Mousa Koussa, who unexpectedly quit his post and arrived in Britain at the end of March, was on Tuesday headed for Qatar to hold talks ahead of the contact group meeting.
The rebels were keen to distance themselves from Koussa. "He is not connected to the [rebel] Transitional National Council in any way or shape," Mustafa Gheriani, media liaison official, told AFP.
Koussa, a long-time top aide to Gaddafi, will not participate in the meeting but is expected to hold talks on the sidelines, British sources said.
Meanwhile, French Defence Minister Gerard Longuet complained that Paris and London have been left to bear the brunt of the operation in Libya.
