Obama: Gaddafi Regime Is Coming To An End

Barack Obama has called for a "peaceful, inclusive and just" future for Libya saying Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's regime is "coming to an end".

The US president warned the situation is "fluid. There remains a degree of uncertainty".

"This is not over yet," he stressed to reporters as he took a break from his holiday in Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts.

His on-camera comments followed a three-paragraph written statement released on Sunday night.

"The people of Libya," it read, "are showing that the universal pursuit of dignity and freedom is far stronger than the iron fist of a dictator".

But he stressed the need for a peaceful transition from the rule of Col Gaddafi: "A season of conflict must lead to one of peace."

US military officials say they believe Col Gaddafi is still in Tripoli. They have confirmed that US surveillance operations continue over the country.

Press reports claim intensified surveillance operations combined with armed Predator drones contributed to the dramatic success of rebel advances against Gaddafi forces.

There has been criticism from opponents of the Obama administration who would have liked more US military involvement earlier in the conflict.

Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham regretted what they called "the failure of the United States to employ the full weight of our airpower".

Republican presidential hopefuls have welcomed the news.

"The crumbling of Muammar Gaddafi's reign, a violent, repressive dictatorship with a history of terrorism, is cause for cautious celebration," Rick Perry said in a written statement.

His rival Mitt Romney called on any new government in Libya to "arrest and extradite the mastermind behind the bombing of Pan Am 103, Abdelbaset Mohamed Ali al Megrahi, so justice can be done".

The demise of an American arch foe, blamed for 189 deaths in the Lockerbie bombing and US servicemen in the Berlin nightclub bombing also in the 1980s, is a victory for Mr Obama when he needs it as his personal approval ratings have plummeted to new lows.