Libya conflict: Cameron and Sarkozy visit Tripoli
Sarkozy and Cameron (pictured here in Paris) are due to give speeches in the former rebel stronghold of Benghazi
UK PM David Cameron and French President Nicolas Sarkozy are in Libya, the most senior Western leaders to visit since Muammar Gaddafi was ousted.
Their countries were at the forefront of Nato's Libyan operation.
They will meet National Transitional Council (NTC) leaders in Tripoli, before flying to Benghazi, where they are expected to speak in the former rebel stronghold's Liberty Square.
NTC chief Mustafa Abdul Jalil has pledged "the leaders... will be safe".
Speaking to the BBC at the airport, Mr Cameron said he was delighted to be in Tripoli, adding that he "hoped to work for a better and free and democratic Libya".
He and Mr Sarkozy then boarded a French helicopter to visit a hospital in the capital. The two leaders are hugely popular in Libya, where common graffiti slogans include: "Merci Sarkozy!" and "Thank you Britain!"
Easing sanctions
Thursday's visit had been under consideration for several weeks, says the BBC's Christian Fraser in Paris. Initially the plan had been to wait until security had improved across Libya, but clearly the visit was brought forward to show support for the NTC after its arrival in Tripoli at the weekend.
The French leader is travelling with 160 security officers, mostly from the specialist CRS riot squad, adds our correspondent. They have been given instructions to travel in civilian clothes with backpacks containing three litres of water, rations and a bulletproof vest.
He was expected to be accompanied by Bernard-Henri Levy, the philosopher seen by many observers as a driving force behind Mr Sarkozy's decision to take military action in Libya.
On Wednesday, Mr Jalil had appealed for weapons to help the NTC take the few areas of Libya still loyal to Col Gaddafi, telling the BBC the fugitive leader was in the country's south, plotting his revenge.
A written message attributed to Col Gaddafi, meanwhile, appealed to the UN to stop "crimes" against his birthplace, Sirte. The autocrat who led his country for four decades had previously said he would rather die than flee Libya.
Nato has been carrying out air strikes under a mandate from two UN resolutions to protect Libyan civilians.
For its part, the US said it was encouraged by the increasing control the NTC was exercising over security forces in the country.
Meanwhile, the UK has circulated a draft resolution to the United Nations Security Council that would ease UN sanctions against Libya.
Many UN countries - including all five permanent members of the UN Security Council - have recognised the NTC as Libya's legitimate authority. But the African Union, which met on Wednesday, has yet to do so.
'All the gold'
As well as Sirte on the Mediterranean coast, Gaddafi loyalists still control parts of Bani Walid, south-east of the capital, and Jufra, while Mr Jalil said many pro-Gaddafi forces had fled to Sabha in the southern desert.
"There will be fierce battles in Sabha with equipment that we do not yet have, and we ask for more equipment to retake these places," he said.
He added that Col Gaddafi had possession of "all the gold" and would be planning attacks on cities, oilfields and power plants.
NTC officials say members of the former leader's inner circle took gold and cash with them when they fled south across the border to Niger last week.
Mr Jalil was speaking in his first BBC interview since moving to Tripoli at the weekend from the anti-Gaddafi stronghold of Benghazi.
He confirmed that the NTC would not move the whole of its administration to Tripoli until the last pockets of pro-Gaddafi resistance had been captured.
On Wednesday, a message purporting to have been written by Col Gaddafi called on the UN to "bear your international responsibility and intervene immediately to stop this crime".
"Terrorism and destruction exercised by Nato on the Sirte area is beyond description," said the message, which was read out by a presenter on a pro-Gaddafi Syrian TV channel, and allegedly signed: "Muammar Gaddafi, the leader of the revolution."
At least 36 members of Col Gaddafi's inner circle, including relatives and generals, have fled to neighbouring Algeria and Niger since Tripoli fell to NTC forces last month.
With roads to Tunisia, Egypt, Chad and Sudan largely controlled by anti-Gaddafi forces, Niger has been used as an exit route by Gaddafi loyalists - including his son Saadi.
Anti-Gaddafi fighters say they have captured the northern half of Bani Walid but have struggled to push further
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