Nato ministers meet to discuss Libya crisis

The UK and France have been pushing for other countries to increase the military pressure on Col Gaddafi, as rebels continue to battle government forces along the country’s northern coast.Air strikes led by the US, France and Britain began last month. Nato has since taken leadership of the mission.

UK and France have been calling for other countries to get involved in the more aggressive role of attacking ground targets, those candidates being Italy and Spain.

Ahead of talks in Berlin, the "contact group" on Libya issued a statement calling on Col Gaddafi to stand down.

The BBC reports from Berlin that foreign ministers will be trying to find a coherent strategy whilst holding different views over what the role of armed force from outside should be.

Tasks in the Libya mission include policing the arms embargo with ships and enforcing the no-fly zone.

The Libya conflict will also be discussed by officials from the African Union and Organisation of the Islamic Conference in Cairo. UN

Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and Arab League head Amr Moussa are among those attending.

Meeting in Paris late on Wednesday, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and UK Prime Minister David Cameron agreed to step up military pressure on Col Gaddafi, a French official said.

The official, who briefed reporters on the meeting, said the coalition should have "all the means it needs", and that it should show "total determination" to end the sieges of the rebel-held western towns of Misrata and Zintan.