Every signal coming from Tripoli indicates that the remnants of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi's regime just don't get it. After three weeks of Nato-led air strikes and a country ripped apart by revolution, Gaddafi still believes he is the unifying force in Libya. The reality is that he is delusional.
His sons are trying to portray themselves as leadership figures in any new regime that might replace Gaddafi's rule — they too suffer from their father's vanity and destructive personality.
A report from Zawiya suggests that some 2,000 residents from the city are missing and that sexual assault is being used by Gaddafi's mercenaries as a weapon of war. This report, if substantiated, underscores the need for Gaddafi and his closest supporters to face charges of crimes against humanity and the Libyan people. There can be no place for any Gaddafi family member or anyone from his inner sanctum in a new Libyan administration.
Rebel forces are calling on Nato to expedite their air strikes and to act with greater speed in dispatching the military capability of Gaddafi. This needs to happen as a matter of urgency.
Every effort needs to be made to remove the cancer of Gaddafi from Libya as soon as possible.
