A TRIP by SA envoys to Tripoli at the weekend for an African Union mission aimed at starting talks between Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's regime and rebels was cancelled after a UN resolution declaring the country a no-fly zone.
"They didn't go to Tripoli because it was declared a no-fly zone," International Relations and Co-operation spokesperson Clayson Monyela said yesterday.
State Security Minister Siyabonga Cwele, Deputy International Relations Minister Ebrahim Ebrahim and security adviser Welile Nhlapo were due to act as President Jacob Zuma's envoys in the talks scheduled for the weekend.
South Africa is a member of a panel appointed by the African Union to assist in the resolution of Libya's political crisis. The panel includes Uganda, Mauritania, Mali and the Congo.
Zuma said in the national assembly last week he had personally rebuked Gaddafi for "shooting his people", but declined to say whether SA backed international calls for a no-fly zone over the North African state.
A UN Security Council resolution imposed a no-fly zone over the country last Thursday to stop Gaddafi's attacks on rebels.
The US, France and Britain have been bombing targets in Libya to enforce the no-fly zone.
The African Union's panel on Libya yesterday called for an immediate stop to the attacks.
SA envoys' trip to Tripoli cancelled
A TRIP by SA envoys to Tripoli at the weekend for an African Union mission aimed at starting talks between Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's regime and rebels was cancelled after a UN resolution declaring the country a no-fly zone.
"They didn't go to Tripoli because it was declared a no-fly zone," International Relations and Co-operation spokesperson Clayson Monyela said yesterday.
State Security Minister Siyabonga Cwele, Deputy International Relations Minister Ebrahim Ebrahim and security adviser Welile Nhlapo were due to act as President Jacob Zuma's envoys in the talks scheduled for the weekend.
South Africa is a member of a panel appointed by the African Union to assist in the resolution of Libya's political crisis. The panel includes Uganda, Mauritania, Mali and the Congo.
Zuma said in the national assembly last week he had personally rebuked Gaddafi for "shooting his people", but declined to say whether SA backed international calls for a no-fly zone over the North African state.
A UN Security Council resolution imposed a no-fly zone over the country last Thursday to stop Gaddafi's attacks on rebels.
The US, France and Britain have been bombing targets in Libya to enforce the no-fly zone.
The African Union's panel on Libya yesterday called for an immediate stop to the attacks.
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