Gaddafi accepts peace plan, rebels say he must go

BENGHAZI, Libya, (Reuters) – Muammar Gaddafi  accepted an African Union plan to end the Libyan civil war but  rebels said today there could be no deal unless he leaves  power, and there was no sign of a let-up in the fighting.
Rebels in the besieged western city of Misrata told Reuters  Gaddafi’s forces fired Russian-made Grad rockets into the city,  while insurgents in eastern Libya were preparing to advance.
South African President Jacob Zuma, head of an AU peace  mission, said early on Monday that Gaddafi had accepted a peace  “road map”, including a ceasefire, after talks in Tripoli.
A spokesman in the rebel capital of Benghazi said the  opposition would look at the plan but Gaddafi must end his  41-year rule.
“The Libyan people have made it very clear that Gaddafi must  step down, but we will consider the proposal once we have more  details, and respond,” spokesman Mustafa Gheriani told Reuters.
Libyan officials have repeatedly said that Gaddafi, who  holds no official state position, will not quit.
The AU delegation went to Benghazi to confer with rebel  leaders on Monday and were met by more than 1,000 demonstrators  holding banners reading: “Free us from Gaddafi” and “Gaddafi has  committed genocide”.
NATO, which is bombing Libyan government armour under a  United Nations mandate to protect civilians, issued a  non-committal response to Zuma’s appeal for the allies to stop  air strikes “to give the ceasefire a chance”.
At the front outside the rebel town of Ajdabiyah, in eastern  Libya, rebels were preparing to advance westwards after  repelling a fierce government assault on Sunday.
They buried the charred bodies of Gaddafi troops killed in  air strikes outside the town and said they had been ordered to  wait until noon to advance because new NATO bombing was  expected.
Gheriani expressed surprise that Zuma did not travel to  Benghazi with the four other African heads of state. Zuma said  he had urgent business elsewhere.