African Union dodges issue of Gadhafi's role (AP)

MALABO, Equatorial Guinea – Africa's heads of state signed off on a road map designed to help Libya emerge from civil war, but carefully dodged the issue of what role the country's entrenched dictator Moammar Gadhafi should play in its future government.

The proposal adopted by the 53-nation body comes after a delegation from the African Union traveled to Libya, meeting both with Gadhafi and the rebels attempting to overthrow him in an effort to mediate a solution. The rebels had said that a precondition was that Gadhafi must leave power before any negotiations can take place.

The road map agreed upon by the African leaders at this week's African Union summit states that Gadhafi has agreed to "an inclusive dialogue process" that will include the rebels. He had furthermore agreed not to take part in these negotiations.

However, the AU proposal does not say that Gadhafi should step down, and it does not make clear whether he would be allowed to play a part in the proposed transitional government, whose shape is to be determined during the talks.

Among the only guidance it provides is that the transitional period "will be underpinned by ... inclusivity in order to bring on board all stakeholders" and "consensus as a way to providing broad based support to all decisions that will be undertaken during the transition."

AU leaders refused to answer whether or not that language opens the door for Gadhafi to be a member of the new government, even if he did not take part in the negotiations to create it.

Gadhafi's chief of staff Bashir Saleh and the other representatives of the Libyan government called it a step forward. "I think it's a good thing as it will allow all the parties to come together and find a solution." The spokesman for the rebel delegation could not immediately be reached for comment.

Saleh denied that support for Gadhafi among his African peers is waning, even though several diplomats said that a majority of AU leaders are now in favor of him stepping down, even if they are not willing to say so publicly.

Several Western observers including one that was inside the closed-door session during the debate said that the AU was divided between those wanting the body to issue a statement calling for Gadhafi's departure and those arguing that Gadhafi is an elected head of state and cannot be forced out.

"The idea of his departure is illogical," said Saleh. "He's the head of state," said Saleh. "How can you ask someone to leave his own house?"

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African Union meets for crucial Libya peace talks

South African President Jacob Zuma (R) chairs an African Union (AU) meeting on Libya in Pretoria on Sunday.NEW: South Africa's president says a U.N. resolution's goal was not "political assassination"Human rights groups want the African Union to prioritize the issue of civilian casualtiesLibya says latest round of NATO strikes have killed civiliansNATO said there is no indication that it did so

Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- The African Union attempted Sunday to map a road to peace in Libya, despite a previous failed effort to end hostilities between Moammar Gadhafi's forces and rebels seeking to oust the Libyan leader.

The meeting follows claims a day earlier by the Libyan government that NATO warplanes bombed a bakery and a restaurant in a key oil refinery town east of Tripoli, a charge the alliance has countered.

South African President Jacob Zuma said continued bombing by NATO and its allies was a "concern," since protecting the Libyan people was the intention behind a U.N. resolution authorizing the use of force in Libya.

"The intention was not to authorize a campaign for regime change or political assassination," he said in his opening remarks at a meeting of the African Union's special committee on Libya.

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The committee, established in March, convened in Pretoria, South Africa, to discuss avenues to end the months-long fighting that has gripped the nation and left tens of thousands dead.

Ahead of the meeting, human rights activists urged the African Union to prioritize the issue of the plight of civilians caught in armed conflicts, including Libya.

Both Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have blamed the Gadhafi regime for violations of human rights, including indiscriminate fire on civilians, the use of internationally banned cluster bombs and the torture and executions of captured fighters.

On Sunday, an International Committee of the Red Cross ship arrived in Tripoli from the rebel stronghold of Benghazi with about 100 people on board. It was the second time in a week that the ICRC has reunited friends and families between the the eastern opposition-controlled city and the western regime-controlled city.

Over the past three months, members of the African Union's Special Committee on Libya have met with Gadhafi and opposition leaders. The special committee includes representatives from Mauritania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali, Uganda and South Africa.

Gadhafi has been a strong supporter of the African Union and has channeled large sums of money its way. Libya also holds a seat on the 15-member Peace and Security Council, which is headed by Ramtane Lamamra.

As such, opposition leaders had voiced doubt that any mediation involving that multinational group would end the conflict in a way that would satisfy their goals, which include Gadhafi's ouster.

In April, the African Union attempted to broker peace between Gadhafi and the rebels. In the agreement, the African Union said Gadhafi had agreed in principle to stop all hostilities and allow outside forces to help keep the peace.

The rebels rejected the proposal, saying it did not address whether Gadhafi would step down nor did it provide any solution to the violence against the Libyan people.

The proposal did not address whether Gadhafi would step down, nor was it binding.

NATO began bombing military targets in March after the U.N. Security Council issued a resolution authorizing force by whatever means necessary, with the exception of a ground invasion, to protect civilians.

Libya accused NATO on Saturday of killing civilians in airstrikes, with NATO responding that it struck key command-and-control centers. The alliance said there was "no indication of civilian casualties in connection with these strikes."

Gadhafi's forces have occupied buildings in an abandoned area of al-Brega from where they are launching attacks on civilians, a NATO statement said. The alliance monitored the buildings and said it determined they were clear military targets.

"This continues to show Gadhafi's reprehensible tactics of placing military assets and operations at the heart of civilian neighborhoods," said Lt. Gen. Charles Bouchard, NATO commander for the Libya campaign.

"We have meticulously monitored these developments for a significant period and it was time to remove this threat," he said.

Al-Brega is a key oil refinery town about 500 miles east of Tripoli that has been the scene of heavy fighting between pro-Gadhafi forces and rebel fighters.

Abdul Hafiz Ghoga, a spokesman and deputy chairman of the opposition's Transitional National Council, said Gadhafi bears a lot of the responsibility for civilian casualties as the Libyan leader keeps weapons near where people live.

Also Saturday, Libyan state TV said NATO strikes hit Gharyan, a city in the west. The report cited an unnamed military source who said a number of people were killed and wounded in the attack. CNN cannot independently confirm the claim.

CNN's Raja Razek, Yousuf Basil and Ingrid Formanek and journalist David Adams contributed to this report.

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Malaysian opens forum to push African ties (AFP)

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) – Malaysia's biennial convention to promote economic collaboration with Africa will begin Sunday with the attendance of controversial Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe.

Dubbed the Langkawi International Dialogue and a brainchild of ex-premier Mahathir Mohamad, the forum aims to stimulate economic collaboration between Malaysia and a continent beset by conflicts, coups and political turmoil.

The 87-year-old Mugabe, who is banned from travelling to the European Union over his regime's human rights record, arrived in Malaysia on Saturday and will be among leaders from 20 countries expected to attend the four-day event in Putrajaya, south of the capital Kuala Lumpur.

Around 500 delegates from countries including Lesotho, Gambia, South Africa, Uganda, Kenya and Namibia will be welcomed by Prime Minister Najib Razak when he kicks off proceedings at the 14th forum, the ninth to be held in Malaysia.

Africa is a good bet for growth, say analysts, with the International Monetary Fund expecting it to expand faster than the global average in the coming years, with six of the world's 10 fastest-growing economies coming from the continent last year.

Malaysia's heavily trade-dependent economy needs to find new markets for the manufactured products, oil and palm oil that it exports.

Deputy foreign minister Kohilan Pillay said total trade between Malaysia and Africa in 2010 stood at 25 billion ringgit ($8.2 billion), a 39 percent surge from the previous year.

"There are tremendous opportunities for Malaysia. We need to explore the various opportunities," he added.

Officials say investors will meet potential partners and identify opportunities during the forum while leaders will map ways to promote trade and economic ties.

However, the invitation to controversial African leaders with poor human rights records have caused concern among activists with Sudan's Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court, pulling out amid opposition to his presence from rights groups.

Former president of the Malaysian Bar Council Ragunath Kesavan urged authorities to uninvite Mugabe as it will be seen as condoning his abuses.

"We should not engage with Mugabe. We should not add legitimacy to this international pariah," he said.

"It will be seen as condoning and sympathetic to what Mugabe is doing in his country," Ragunath added.

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African free trade zone planning is under way (The Christian Science Monitor)

Freetown, Sierra Leone – Trade officials from across Africa met in Johannesburg this week to announce the formal start of negotiations toward a free trade zone that would stretch the length of the continent, incorporating more than 500 million people, 26 countries, and nearly a trillion dollars of economic output.

The proposed deal, which would eliminate many trade barriers between participating countries, would merge three existing trade blocs in eastern, central, and southern Africa. It would include Africa's two biggest economies (South Africa and Egypt) and its fastest growing (the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe, and Botswana).

The project, which has been dubbed the “African Grand Free Trade Area,” is a bold idea, but not a new one. African leaders first made their plans for a 26-country trading bloc public at a summit in Uganda in October 2008. Since then, they have made little progress toward that goal.

RELATED: Think you know Africa? Take our geography quiz.

“We all know that this is a very long process,” says El Hadji Diouf, the executive director of the African Agency for Trade and Development, a Geneva-based think tank. “But an FTA like this would be a very good thing for the African community.”

“If they have strong political leadership, they will get there,” Mr. Diouf added. “I don’t think they have a choice: Development comes about through a better flow of trade.”

Commerce within Africa remains limited. Just 10 percent of the continent’s trade is conducted between African countries, while the rest goes overseas. That low volume is a result of Africa’s weak infrastructure, dense red tape, and corrupt border officials, among other challenges.

“Today, there are 40 to 50 barriers from one African border to another,” the prominent Sudanese businessman Mo Ibrahim told a business conference in Paris in March. “In such a context, it is obvious that if you carry perishable foodstuffs, they will be lost before you reach your destination. We need to break up those barriers and guarantee the free movement of people and goods."

Rob Davies, South Africa’s minister of trade and industry, said in a media briefing on Monday that the first stage of the “Grand FTA” negotiations will focus on eliminating tariffs and other traditional barriers to goods trade, while a second round will tackle more delicate issues such as intellectual property and trade in services.

a€?The timeframe for this is three years,a€

Once finalized, the FTA should be opened up to all of the continenta€™s regions, said Diouf of the African Agency for Trade and Development.

a€?It is important that this process doesna€™t exclude other African countries,a€

African nations are not alone in seeking out a regional approach to freeing up trade. Coalitions like Mercosur, the South American customs union, and ASEAN, the Southeast Asian economic group, are also planning to deepen and broaden their economic integration.

These robust regional forums contrast starkly with the 153-country “Doha Round” trade talks at the World Trade Organization, which are now limping into their second decade and have yet to produce any tangible results.

RELATED: Think you know Africa? Take our geography quiz.

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South African President Zuma flies into Tripoli (Reuters)

TRIPOLI (Reuters) – South African President Jacob Zuma flew into Tripoli Monday to try to broker a peace deal with Muammar Gaddafi, just hours after NATO's secretary-general said the Libyan leader's "reign of terror" was coming to an end.

Zuma was met by a host of dignitaries, not including Gaddafi himself, who has not been seen since May 11 when he was shown by Libyan state television meeting what it said was tribal leaders.

His walk down the red carpet at Tripoli airport was accompanied by a band and children chanting "We want Gaddafi!" in English while waving Libyan flags and pictures of the leader.

Zuma's visit is his second since the conflict began. His previous trip made little progress because Gaddafi has refused to relinquish power while rebel leaders say that is a pre-condition for any truce.

NATO warplanes have been raising the pace of their air strikes on Tripoli, with Gaddafi's Bab al-Aziziyah compound in the center of the city being hit repeatedly.

Britain said Sunday it was to add "bunker-busting" bombs to the arsenal its warplanes are using over Libya, a weapon it said would send a message to Gaddafi that it was time to quit.

"Our operation in Libya is achieving its objectives ... We have seriously degraded Gaddafi's ability to kill his own people," NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told a NATO forum in Varna, Bulgaria.

"Gaddafi's reign of terror is coming to an end. He is increasingly isolated at home and abroad. Even those closest to him are departing, defecting or deserting."

Gaddafi denies attacking civilians, saying his forces were obliged to act to contain armed criminal gangs and al Qaeda militants. He says the NATO intervention is an act of colonial aggression aimed at grabbing Libya's plentiful oil reserves.

BUNKER-BUSTERS

Britain and other NATO powers are ratcheting up the military intervention to try to break a deadlock that has seen Gaddafi hold on to power despite a rebel uprising against his four-decade rule and weeks of air strikes.

U.S. Admiral Samuel Locklear, commander of the Joint Operations Command at Naples, declined to comment on whether NATO would put forces on the ground but suggested a small force may be needed to help the rebels once Gaddafi's rule collapses.

He told the Varna forum: "I would anticipate that there might be a need at some point to unfold a small force ... a small number of people there to help them in some way."

Britain said the Enhanced Paveway III bombs, each weighing nearly a tone and capable of penetrating the roof or wall of a reinforced building, had arrived at the Italian air base from where British warplanes fly missions over Libya.

"We are not trying to physically target individuals in Gaddafi's inner circle on whom he relies, but we are certainly sending them increasingly loud messages," British Defense Secretary Liam Fox said Sunday in a statement.

The military alliance says it is acting under a mandate from the United Nations to protect civilians from attack by security forces trying to put down the rebellion against Gaddafi.

But the more aggressive tactics risk causing divisions within the fragile alliance backing the intervention, and could also lead to NATO being dragged closer toward putting its troops on Libyan soil, something it is anxious to avoid.

Further deepening their involvement, Britain and France have said they will deploy attack helicopters over Libya to better pick out pro-Gaddafi forces. Helicopters are more vulnerable to attack from the ground than high-flying warplanes.

Sunday Al Jazeera television station broadcast video footage of what it said were foreign forces, possibly British, on the ground near the rebel-held city of Misrata.

There were a number of armed men, some wearing sunglasses and keffiyahs, or traditional Arab headscarves, who moved off when they realized they were being watched, the footage showed.

Gaddafi's foreign minister held talks in Tunisia Saturday with Lord David Trefgarne, a former British government minister, according to a former British ambassador to Libya who took part in the discussions.

The ex-ambassador refused to disclose what they talked about and Britain's government said neither it not any intermediaries were talking to officials loyal to Gaddafi.

ROCKETS FIRED

Rebels control the east of Libya around the city of Benghazi, Libya's third-biggest city Misrata, and a mountain range stretching from the town of Zintan, 150 km (95 miles) south of Tripoli, toward the border with Tunisia.

Helped by NATO air support, the rebels have been able to push back attacks by pro-Gaddafi forces but in many places they are still under bombardment and cut off from supplies.

Libyan state television reported that NATO air strikes killed 11 people in Zlitan Monday, the next town westwards on the coast road toward Tripoli from Misrata.

Libya's state news agency Jana also reported that NATO airstrikes hit the Tiji area, near the Western Mountain town of Nalut, overnight, causing "human and material losses."

Libyan officials took journalists Sunday to a school in Tripoli near the part of Gaddafi's Bab al-Aziziyah compound that had been hit by NATO planes during air strikes Saturday.

There was little evidence of damage, but head teacher Hamid Miftar said the nearby blast had broken one or two windows and terrified the children as they sat for the first day of exams.

"Imagine the scene, with children this age in a school of this capacity. They all tried to run out at once," he said. "These are civilians."

As reporters toured classrooms, teachers led the schoolchildren in chants of "Allah, Muammar, Libya together!."

(Additional reporting by Stefano Ambrogi in London, Joseph Logan in Tripoli, Hamid Ould Ahmed in Algiers and Matt Robinson in Zintan; Writing by Christian Lowe and Jan Harvey; Editing by Alison Williams)

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South African photographer missing in Libya believed dead (Reuters)

LONDON/JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – A South African freelance photographer missing in Libya since April is believed dead after being shot in the stomach and abandoned in the desert by forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi, his family said Friday.

Anton Hammerl, 41, who also had Austrian nationality and lived in London, was hit in the stomach after coming under fire on April 5, family friend Bronwyn Friedlander said in London.

South Africa and Austria criticized Gaddafi's government on Friday with Pretoria saying Libya had misled it about Hammerl and the ruling ANC also accused Tripoli of dishonesty.

Two American journalists and a Spanish photographer who were with Hammerl were taken captive by forces loyal to the Libyan leader. They could not report what had happened until their release in Tripoli Wednesday.

According to the released journalists, Hammerl was left behind bleeding while they were taken away by Gaddafi forces, Friedlander said.

"His injuries were such that he could not have survived without medical attention," she said.

"Anton was shot by Gaddafi's forces in an extremely remote location in the Libyan desert," the Hammerl family said in a statement on Facebook.

The American reporters, James Foley and Clare Gillis, spoke by telephone with Hammerl's wife Penny Sukhraj in London late on Thursday.

The attack took place on the outskirts of the eastern oil town of Brega when the journalists were fired on by pro-Gaddafi troops in two Libyan military trucks, Foley and Gillis said in an interview published on the GlobalPost website.

BRUTAL ACTION

Austria's Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger said in a statement Libya failed to provide any helpful information despite repeated requests.

"This brutal action by Gaddafi's soldiers is a shocking example of the dangers that journalists in particular face in conflict situations. Freedom of the press is especially important in just these situations," Spindelegger said.

South African President Jacob Zuma has been criticized for not bringing up the issue of Hammerl with Gaddafi on a visit to Tripoli last month.

South Africa's foreign ministry, which said this month it had proof Hammerl was still alive, said Friday the Libyan government had misled it about the photographer.

"We kept getting reassured at the highest level that he was alive until his colleagues were released and shared the information...," International Relations Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane told reporters Friday.

A senior ministry official who asked not to be named said: "She accused them of lying."

South Africa's ANC said it was incensed at the use of deadly force against civilians and the media.

"We are gravely incensed by the senseless and indiscriminate use of deadly force against innocent civilians and members of the media by the Libyan government ... We are particularly disappointed by the dishonesty of the Libyan government, which assured our government that our citizen was alive and in custody," the ANC said in a statement.

Hammerl, who had three young children, had lived in Britain for five years. His family had hoped he was still alive in captivity after he went missing in April, and had run a campaign for his release.

"From the moment Anton disappeared in Libya we have lived in hope as the Libyan officials assured us that they had Anton," his family said in a statement.

"It is intolerably cruel that Gaddafi loyalists have known Anton's fate all along and chose to cover it up."

Last month two photojournalists -- Oscar-nominated filmmaker Tim Hetherington and Getty photographer Chris Hondros -- were killed after coming under fire in the besieged Libyan town of Misrata.

(Additional reporting by Michael Shields in Vienna; Editing by Maria Golovnina)

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More African refugees arrive in Italy

Refugees from Libya wait after disembarking from a boat onto the Italian island of Lampedusa on April 19, 2011.One ship was from Libya and the other was from TunisiaPeople have been making the journey since FebruaryLampedusa and Malta have borne the brunt of refugee flight

Lampedusa, Italy (CNN) -- More than 400 people fleeing Libya and Tunisia arrived overnight in an Italian island on Saturday, the latest in a stream of refugees escaping volatile and unstable North Africa.

The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said the people reached the Mediterranean island of Lampedusa in two boats, one from Libya and the other from Tunisia.

The vessel from Libya carried 199 people fleeing the country's civil war, and the other carried 218 Tunisians looking for better lives in Europe.

Five boats containing 1,271 passengers reached Lampedusa on Friday.

Many of the refugees are from sub-Saharan Africa, including Sierra Leone and Senegal. Others include Bangladeshis and Egyptians.

More than 30,000 migrants and refugees from Tunisia and Libya have risked this dangerous journey to Lampedusa since last February.

Lampedusa and Malta, both islands less than an hour's flight from the North African coast, have borne the brunt of the subsequent wave of migration.

At one point, the population of migrants vastly outnumbered the tiny population of Lampedusa, which numbers less than 6,000.

The number of new arrivals from Tunisia has reduced somewhat, thanks in part to a recent agreement with Italy to improve patrolling along the Tunisian coast.

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