20110329
reuters

LONDON (Reuters) - An international coalition piled pressure on Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi on Tuesday to quit, pledging to continue military action against his forces until he complies with a U.N. resolution to protect civilians.

They also agreed at a one-day conference in London to set up a contact group to coordinate political efforts on Libya, which would hold its first meeting in Arab ally Qatar soon, and backed an offer by the Qatari government to sell oil produced in rebel-held parts of Libya to pay for humanitarian needs.

"We urge Gaddafi and his people to leave and not to pose any more bloodshed," said Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani, adding that the offer of an exit might only be on the table for a few days.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague told a final news conference that while Britain was not engaged in efforts to find somewhere for Gaddafi to go, others were free to do so.

Rebels fighting Gaddafi promised to build a free, democratic state if they won power in Tripoli.

British Prime Minister David Cameron, opening a conference of 40 governments and international bodies, accused Gaddafi's supporters of conducting "murderous attacks" on people in Misrata, Libya's third largest city.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that coalition military strikes on Libya would continue until Gaddafi fully complied with U.N. demands to cease violence against civilians and pull forces out of occupied cities.

"All of us must continue to increase the pressure on and deepen the isolation of the Gaddafi regime through other means as well," Clinton said.