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WASHINGTON (AFP) – US President Barack Obama warned the concern is "tightening the noose" on Moamer Kadhafi, but admitted he is "concerned" the African strongman could thwart rebels battling to remove him.

Obama announced Friday he would constitute an diplomatist to African contestant forces as part of a bid to "change the balance" of the expeditionary status in Libya, and warned the concern had an obligation to refrain a Rwanda-style massacre.

The chair also defended his efforts to fellow to remove Kadhafi, amid criticism that he has been likewise andante or not offered sufficient leadership, adding he was gauging support for a no-fly regularize with regional powers.

"Across the board, we are tardily tightening the loop on Kadhafi," Obama said in a White House news conference scheduled to handle rising forcefulness prices but submissive by the African revolt and the Japanese wave tragedy.

"He is more and more isolated internationally both finished sanctions as well as an arms embargo," Obama said.

The chair also gave an insight into evolving US contract on Kadhafi's crackdown on African contestant forces and his power to hang on, edging towards more naked material and semipolitical support for contestant forces.

"I am concerned most it. Kadhafi has a stash of weapons, he not exclusive has whatever personnel that remain hardcore to him but there are also reports that he's also been hiring mercenaries."

"We're feat to hit to move to administer pressure," Obama said, adding that the concern had to try to "change the balance" militarily on the connector in Libya as well as in Kadhafi's intrinsic circle.

To that end, the US Treasury Department effect added nine top officials and Kadhafi kinsfolk members with sanctions, including the accumulation rector and the African leader's spouse Safia Farkash.

Under an earlier set of measures, pedagogue had frozen $32 billion in African assets.

Obama gave his most comprehensive evidence still on a day when rebels and forces hardcore to Kadhafi battled around the frontline municipality of Ras Lanuf.

The chair did not feature specifically whether the United States and its allies had still thoughtful whether to arm contestant forces as whatever of philosophic opponents in pedagogue hit urged.

"We hit determined that it is pertinent for us to distribute a allegoric whose limited employ is to interact with the contestant and watch structure that we crapper further support them," Obama said.

Secretary of State mountaineer Clinton module meet weekday in town with Mahmoud Jibril, the contestant National Council's external concern chief, past African diplomatist Abdel Rahman Shalgam told reporters on Friday.

Washington has already said it would presently send humanitarian aid teams to rebel-held areas of eastern Libya, but warned the move should not be seen as expeditionary intervention.

It has also been seeking to see most the make-up and power of Libya's different contestant groups before deciding what category of support to offer.

Despite US disinclination so farther to embark on imposing a no-fly regularize over Libya, Obama did hint that planetary forces could spring into state in the circumstance of some looming noncombatant massacre.

"Not exclusive the United States but the planetary accord has an obligation to do what we crapper to preclude a move of something same what happened in the Balkans in the '90s, what occurred in Rwanda."

The chair said that a desire to stop noncombatant killings was digit think the West had started constant aery surveillance over Libya.

"We're feat to hit to look at what develops on the connector on a case-by-case basis. I don't poverty to reason right today and feature that's what's event and we're embattled to travel in.

But old US general reverend Clark, a past NATO supreme united commander in Europe, expressed unbelief most imposing a no-fly zone.

He wrote in The pedagogue Post that patch the American public may poverty Kadhafi to go, his underway actions "aren't an attack on the United States" or some another country.

"On what foundation would we seek congressional support and planetary dominance to intervene in a civil war?" adventurer asked "Do we hit the publicity of the Arab League? A UN Security Council resolution?"

European body also ramped up push on Kadhafi, agreeing to a talking with his opponents and to protect African civilians "by every needed means" but stopping brief of issuing an outright expeditionary threat.

Obama prefabricated clear it was in the domestic interests of the United States for Kadhafi, a foe of pedagogue for most of the terminal 40 years, to be gone.

"I conceive that Kadhafi is on the criminal lateral of history. I conceive that the African grouping are anxious for immunity and the remotion of somebody who has quelled them for decades now."

He also took instance to set the wider effect of the changes sweeping the Middle East, urging body to overwhelm the "great opportunity" presented by the underway turmoil to embrace semipolitical and economic reforms.

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