U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called on African states to “abandon” Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi. Speaking at the African Union headquarters in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa Monday, Clinton said that she realized that Qaddafi had given many of them aid over the years, but that “it has become clear by the day that he has lost his legitimacy to rule and that we are long past the day when he can remain in power.

"Your words and actions could make the difference in bringing this situation to a close and allowing the people of Libya to get to work rebuilding their country," Clinton said. "The world needs the African Union to lead."