EU Mulls Ways to End Libyan Conflict
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}BRUSSELS -- EU leaders sought Friday to find a way to resolve the conflict in Libya, where Muammar Qaddafi's government remains in power despite a three-month NATO bombing campaign against his military.
Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme said the leaders "really have to see how we can achieve a definitive and decisive breakthrough" in the war.
The European Union has repeatedly condemned Qaddafi's government, saying there can be no impunity for crimes against humanity and urging his followers to distance themselves from such crimes. It has also imposed sanctions on Libyan leaders and frozen the assets of government companies.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The summit was considering how the EU could help with political transition and post-conflict reconstruction in the country.
"Libya's democratic transformation remains a primary interest of the European Union," said a draft conclusion likely to be adopted by the summit.
The war has sparked accusations that EU nations participating in NATO's aerial onslaught -- Britain, France, Belgium, Italy, and Denmark -- have overstepped the U.N. resolution, which authorized only the protection of Libyan civilians, the imposition of an arms embargo and the setting up of a no-fly zone.