TÁNAISTE EAMON GILMORE has welcomed what he says “appears to be the end of the Gaddafi dictatorship in Libya” and has urged its under-fire leader Muammar Gaddafi to step down immediately.

Gilmore, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, said the National Transitional Council was now “the only authority in Libya” and expressed his hopes that it be able to establish an effective government that could run the entire country.

Having watched the ongoing events in Tripoli, he said the “forces of the dictator, which had no real popular support, seem to have withered away” and called on Gaddafi to “depart without further violence”.

The Tánaiste said he had already met with representatives from the NTC and said he was impressed by the council’s plans for an “inclusive and democratic future for all Libyans”.

“The international community will look to them to respect human rights and the rule of law, including in respect of prisoners, and to restore peace and stability.”

Gilmore added that Ireland would do all it could to help the reconstruction and redevelopment efforts in the country, and that he hoped Bashar Assad’s government in Syria would learn that Arab peoples had “the same desire for freedom and democracy as we do”.

Department of Foreign Affairs officials have remained in contact with Irish families based in Libya, and the government believes that all Irish citizens living in Libya are safe at present.

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