Gaddafi must be toppled 'by force: Rebels

Muammar Gaddafi can only be toppled by force, Libya's rebel president said yesterday during a visit to Rome in which Italy said the opposition could be aided with military equipment and foreign oil sales.
"Gaddafi will never give up power except by force," Mustafa Abdel Jalil said after talks with Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini, as his advisers said that no type of political mediation with the Gaddafi regime was planned.
"He cannot be compared to Ben Ali or Mubarak," he said, referring to the Tunisian and Egyptian presidents ousted by uprisings earlier this year.
Jalil also thanked France, Italy and Qatar, for giving official recognition to the Libyan opposition.