Obama urges Gaddafi forces to give up, vows Libya aid

President Barack Obama called for the last of Muammar Gaddafi's loyalist forces to lay down their arms as he announced the return of the US ambassador to Tripoli and pledged to help Libya rebuild.

"Today, the Libyan people are writing a new chapter in the life of their nation," Obama said in prepared remarks for a high-level UN conference on Libya. "We will stand with you in your struggle to realize the peace and prosperity that freedom can bring."

Obama's message came as transitional government forces confronted stiff resistance in the last strongholds of Gaddafi loyalists and the provisional leadership faced questions about whether it can unify a country divided on tribal and local lines.

"Those still holding out must understand-the old regime is over, and it is time to lay down your arms and join the new Libya," Obama said nearly a month after Gaddafi was driven from power with the help of a NATO-led bombing campaign.

Seeking to bolster Libya's new leaders, Obama said the US ambassador was now on his way back to Tripoli and "this week, the American flag that was lowered before our embassy was attacked will be raised again."

He further pledged: "So long as the Libyan people are being threatened, the NATO-led mission to protect them will continue."

"The world must support efforts to secure dangerous weapons - conventional and otherwise - and bring fighters under central, civilian control," Obama said.

Obama also delivered a staunch defense of his Libya strategy. He had faced criticism for an initially slow response to the Libyan uprising and then set strict limits on the US role in the NATO air assault, which was officially justified as a means of stopping the massacre of civilians.