UNITED NATIONS: UN chief Ban Ki-moon urged Libyan Prime Minister Baghdadi al-Mahmudi to stop the fighting in the North African nation and help improve humanitarian conditions in a telephone call Thursday.

Ban stressed “the urgent need to find a way out of the current fighting and alleviate the dire humanitarian situation and work out a transition that could bring peace to all Libyans,” his office said.

He also said his special envoy to Libya Abdul Ilah al-Khatib was aiming to reach a peace deal for all Libyans.

Mahmudi had agreed that Khatib should be received in Tripoli “at an early date for urgent consultations,” Ban's office added.

Rebels have been fighting since February to oust longtime Libyan leader Moamer Qadhafi.

In addition to the Nato assistance, the West has thrown its diplomatic and financial support behind the rebel National Transitional Council (NTC), which has been recognized by about 20 countries including Britain and France.