Libya Fighting Rages Despite 'Peace Plan'

You know that African Union peace plan Moammar Gadhafi agreed to? Well it doesn’t seem to have changed a thing on the ground. Gadhafi’s forces continued their assault against Ajdabiya and launched shells at Misrata, while NATO went right on launching airstrikes, the New York Times reports. “It does not appear that this indication of a peace deal has any substance at this point,” said one NATO official.

The AU leaders are in Benghazi today pitching the ceasefire to rebel leaders. But though the rebels have promised to look at the plan, they say they won’t accept anything that leaves Gadhafi in power, the BBC reports. Some analysts tell the Wall Street Journal that the deal looks mostly like a stalling tactic for Gadhafi. The regime is “trying to put a wedge inside the coalition to make it think of other alternatives,” one expert said. (More Libya stories.)