Biya meets with US, France over Libya, Cote d’Ivoire

Written by Ro-Martin Fefeh, The Standard Tribune

Saturday, 26 March 2011 13:06

President Paul Biya met the ambassadors of the United States and France last week to discuss the crisis in Libya and the political stalemate in la Cote d’Ivoire.

US ambassador Robert E. Jackson said he had a friendly conversation with the president but gave away little from their meeting on Friday at Unity Palace.

The second meeting with the French ambassador Bronu Gain took place on Tursday and dwelled on the same issues of bilateral cooperation and current global affairs.

Both meetings came as the Libyan leader Muammar el-Qaddafi came under intense pressure from rebels battling for territorial space and international forces enforcing a UN no fly zone.

Cameroon has not openly stated its support for the international effort to prevent Qaddafi from attacking rebels and opponents to his more than 40-year regime.

Firday, the African Union said Qaddafi had agreed to a cease fire and promised to pursue political reforms to end the crisis. But that did not stop the fighting at the weekend.

Saturday, rebels said they had recaptured the Ajdabiya, a key town in the east of the country, turning around a struggle that seemed to be running into defeat.

Meanwhile Nato has now taken control of the air strikes and coalition war planes were still bombing Libyan targets at the weekend.

The president of the United States, Barack Obama, said the international effort had spared “countless lives” in Libya, adding that the mission was clear, focused and limited.

“So make no mistake, because we acted quickly, a humanitarian catastrophe has been avoided and the lives of countless civilians – innocent men, women and children – have been saved,” he said Saturday.

Obama also urged Laurent Gbagbo to cede power as a way of ending the post election crisis in the west African nation and avoid further clashes and deaths.

“Last year’s election was free and fair, and President Alassane Ouattara is the democratically elected leader of the nation,” Obama said.