Gaddafi opponents plan to oust him

[ECH1969]

CAIRO — With change building in other parts of the Middle East, exiled opposition leaders want to bring some of that same momentum to Libya and find a way to remove from power one of the region’s most entrenched leaders, Muammar Gaddafi.

Gaddafi’s opponents, battered by political division and weakened by long exile, are gathering for the first time this weekend in London — clearly inspired by other changes that previously seemed unimaginable, like the fall of Iraq’s Saddam Hussein and the end of Syria’s military domination in Lebanon.

They say they are also seeking help from the United States and others in removing Gaddafi, who is the longest-serving Arab leader, running his country of 5 million people with an iron fist since a 1969 military coup.

“We want to come out with one clear message that Gaddafi can no longer stay in power,” said Fayez Jibril of the Libyan National Salvation Front.

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