Benghazi protest: No deal without Gadhafi leaving

[April 11, 2011]  BENGHAZI, Libya (AP) -- Several hundred Libyans are protesting in the eastern rebel stronghold, saying there can be no peace without Moammar Gadhafi's departure and expressing little faith in an African Union team trying to mediate a cease fire.

About 600 protesters are waving pre-Gadhafi flags and chanting slogans against the Libyan strongman outside Tibesty Hotel in Benghazi, where a five-nation AU team is expected to arrive Monday.

The AU delegation said after talks in Tripoli Sunday that Gadhafi accepted their "road map" for a cease-fire. The meeting came hours after NATO airstrikes battered Gadhafi's tanks, helping the rebels push back government troops who had been advancing toward Benghazi.

Protester Jilal Tajouri says that "Gadhafi and all his sons must leave Libya so we can have democracy."

[Associated Press; By BEN HUBBARD]

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