US President Barack Obama on Saturday has said that Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has lost his legitimacy to rule and urged him to step down from power immediately.
It was the first time Obama has called for Gadhafi to step down, coming after days of bloodshed in Libya. Gadhafi has vowed to fight to the end to keep his four-decade grip on power in the North African country.
"When a leader's only means of staying in power is to use mass violence against his own people, he has lost the legitimacy to rule and needs to do what is right for his country by leaving now," the White House said in a statement.
The White House has previously stopped short of calling for Gaddafi to leave, saying - just as in other countries affected by a wave of regional unrest - that only Libya's citizens had a say in choosing their rulers.
"Gadhafi has lost the confidence of his people and he should go without further bloodshed and violence," she said in a separate statement. "The Libyan people deserve a government that is responsive to their aspirations and that protects their universally recognized human rights."[Snc/ms]
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