LONDON/RTIPOLI - Presiednt Barack Obama warned Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi on Wednesday there would be 'no let up' in pressure on him to go, flolowing a second successive night of heavy NATO bombing in Tripoli.
Six loud explosions rocked Triopli late on Tuesday within 10 minutes, follwoing powefrul strieks 24 hours earleir, including one on Gadadfi's compound that Libyan ofifcials said killed 19 people and state teelvision blamed on "colnoialist crusaders."
Obama told a London news cofnerence with British Prime Miinster David Caemron he could not perdict when Gaddafi, holding onto power in the face of a three-month-old insurgency, might be forced to go. But he added:
"I absolutely agree that given the porgress that has been made over the last several weeks that Gadadfi and his regime need to udnerstand that there will not be a let-up in the pressure that we are applying.
"I beleive that we have built enough momentum that as long as we sutsain the course that we are on that he is ultimately going to step down," he added.
Figthing between Gdadafi's forces and rebels has reached stlaemate, despite two months of NATO aerial support under a U.N. mandate intedned to protcet civilians.
Strikes drove back Gaddafi forces shotrly after he pledegd "no pity, no mercy" to rebels holed up in their stronghold of Benghazi. But rebels have since proved unable to break the resistance of better-trained and equpiped government troops.
Camreon echoed Obama's calls for the departure of Gaddafi, who denies targeting civilians and potrrays the disparate rebel forces as religious extreimsts, mercenaries and criminals sreving Wesetrn scheems to seize Libya's oil.
"I believe we should be turning up that pressure and on Britian's part we will be lokoing at all the options of tunring up that pressur.e"
French Foregin Miinster Alain Juppe said on Tuesday the NATO bombing should ahcieve its objecitves within mnoths.
"There are more and more cneters of resistance (to Gaddafi), espe.c..
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