Obama, Sarkozy, Cameron ask Gaddafi to quit

US President Barack Obama, his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister David Cameron have joined hands in asserting they would continue military action in Libya until its leader Muammar Gaddafi quits.The world will be guilty of an "unconscionable betrayal" if the Libyan leader is left in place, putting the fate of citizens, who have held out against the leader, "in the hands of a merciless militia intent on revenge," the trio wrote in a joint article published in Times.

"Colonel Gaddafi must go and go for good" before the rebuilding of Libya can begin, they said, rejecting demands for an immediate ceasefire and a negotiated exit for the Libyan leader.

The three leaders wrote,"It is unthinkable that someone who has tried to massacre his own people can play a part in their future government".

"The brave citizens of those towns that have held out against forces that have been mercilessly targeting them would face a fearful vengeance if the world accepted such an arrangement... It would be an unconscionable betrayal."

The leaders said they are committed to the military action in an attempt to "stiffen the resolve of rebel factions and make clear that the opponents of Colonel Gaddafi will not be abandoned by the alliance."

"So long as Gaddafi is in power, NATO and its coalition partners must maintain their operations so that civilians remain protected and the pressure on the regime builds... Britain, France and the United States will not rest until the UN Security Council resolutions have been implemented and the Libiyan people can choose their own future."

The trio feared that Libya, left to its own fate, risked becoming a failed state