20110525
PressTV
South African President Jacob Zuma plans to visit Libya in order to discuss an exit strategy for embattled ruler Muammar Gaddafi.

Seeking to mediate an end to fighting between Libyan revolutionaries and forces loyal to Gaddafi, Zuma will visit Libya next week in coordination with a Turkish government efforts to help end Gaddafi's decades-long grip on power, Reuters reported.

The announcement comes a day before the African Union opens an extraordinary summit in the Ethiopian capital, with Libya topping the agenda.

The South African president headed an African Union mission to the Libyan capital of Tripoli in April but the AU bid to halt the civil war collapsed within hours.

The delegation had called for an immediate end to all hostilities in the crisis-hit Libya and planned to hold talks with both sides.

Meanwhile, NATO planes carried out heavy air strikes on Tripoli on Tuesday. At least 19 people were killed and 130 others injured in the overnight bombing.

NATO says the airstrikes hit a military facility used to launch attacks on civilians.