Gadhafi 'leading battle for freedom'
Source: Agencies |
August 26, 2011, Friday
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MOAMMAR Gadhafi is safely in hiding and leading the battle against the Libyan rebels, his spokesman said yesterday as fierce gunfights broke out in Tripoli and the opposition tried to assert control over the oil-rich country.
Moussa Ibrahim told reporters by phone that the longtime leader was in Libya and his morale was high. Gadhafi "is indeed leading the battle for our freedom and independence," he said.
Ibrahim, who had appeared daily in televised news conferences since the start of the rebellion six months ago, added that he, too, was in an undisclosed location in Libya and constantly on the move.
"All of the leader's family are fine," Ibrahim said, adding that top military and political aides remained with Gadhafi.
Ibrahim claimed Gadhafi's forces controlled a "good portion" of the capital and other cities and towns. He also accused NATO of besieging Gadhafi strongholds such as Sirte.
An intense gunbattle broke out in the Tripoli neighborhood of Abu Salim, a pro-Gadhafi stronghold, yesterday and another erupted outside the Corinthia hotel where many foreign journalists are staying. About a dozen rebels with machine guns and an anti-aircraft gun fired on what appeared to be loyalist gunmen shooting from nearby high-rise buildings.
The rebels are struggling to take complete control of Tripoli, four days after they swept into the capital and sparked the collapse of Gadhafi's regime. Gadhafi has refused to surrender and vowed to fight on "until victory or martyrdom."
The rebel leadership has offered a US$2 million bounty on Gadhafi's head, and British Defense Secretary Liam Fox said yesterday that NATO was helping in the search for him.
Fox said NATO was "providing intelligence and reconnaissance assets to help in the hunt," and had been heavily active in carrying out overnight airstrikes against Gadhafi loyalists, but refused to say if British special forces were involved.
In Brussels, a NATO official said some airstrikes were launched because Gadhafi's forces had been detected trying to restore some of their damaged weapons systems, including surface-to-air missiles.
Rebels say one of their key targets now is Gadhafi's hometown of Sirte, about 400 kilometers from Tripoli, but acknowledged that capturing the city would not be easy because Gadhafi's fellow tribesmen were expected to put up a fierce fight. Opposition leaders have said they were trying to negotiate a peaceful surrender.
Mustafa Abdel-Jalil, head of the rebel National Transitional Council, called on people living in loyalist-held towns to join the fight against Gadhafi's soldiers.
"I am appealing to the areas not yet liberated to join the revolution," he said. "There is no excuse for them not to join."
Fawzi Abu Ketf, deputy defense minister of the rebel council, said fighting was raging outside Bin Jawad, 650 kilometers south of Tripoli yesterday, but he had no details.
Gadhafi loyalists had ambushed rebels advancing toward the city on Wednesday, killing at least 20 of them.
Wednesday's attack was carried out by pro-Gadhafi forces who had retreated from the oil city of Ras Lanouf after rebels captured that city earlier this week, said Ahmed Zeleity, a rebel commander.
The ambush showed that pro-regime forces retain the ability to strike back even as the rebels tighten their control over the nation's capital.
Rebels have also seized several parts of Sebha, another Gadhafi stronghold still holding out, including the main commercial Gamal Abdel-Nasser street, according to rebel official Adel al-Zintani. He said mercenaries from sub-Saharan African nations who had been paid by Gadhafi had fled the city, but loyal soldiers were continuing to hold firm.
Ketf said another challenge was the need to supply troops at the front. "The supply lines will be too long and we are short of funds and supplies," he said. The humanitarian situation there is increasingly difficult, he said, with lengthy power and water outages.
In Milan, Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi said Italy was preparing to release US$505 million in frozen assets in Italian banks, calling it the first payment.
Italy, Libya's former colonial ruler and biggest trading partner, has not disclosed the total Libyan assets held there.
Berlusconi made the announcement after meeting with the leader of Libya's rebel Cabinet, the second stop on a European diplomatic tour by Mahmoud Jibril aimed at securing the release of billions of dollars in frozen Libyan assets.
Meanwhile, four Italian journalists taken at gunpoint in Libya were freed in a raid on the house where they were being held, an official said.
Details of the raid and who conducted it were not immediately available.
The Italian Foreign Ministry confirmed that the four were freed, but had no further details.
The four were taken at gunpoint on Wednesday by forces loyal to Gadhafi. Their Libyan driver was killed.
"They shot the driver dead in front of us. We are fine, but our thoughts are with the driver who died. We have become close friends with him," Claudio Monici told reporters after their release.
A Maltese ship sent to evacuate foreigners from Tripoli turned back yesterday after fighting in the Libyan capital made the operation too risky.
The vessel was to evacuate at least 24 foreigners, but the Maltese government said the mission was aborted after it became impossible for people to reach the harbor due to fighting in the capital.
The Geneva-based group, the International Organization for Migration, however, said a ship chartered to rescue hundreds of foreigners in Tripoli had managed to dock.
Moussa Ibrahim told reporters by phone that the longtime leader was in Libya and his morale was high. Gadhafi "is indeed leading the battle for our freedom and independence," he said.
Ibrahim, who had appeared daily in televised news conferences since the start of the rebellion six months ago, added that he, too, was in an undisclosed location in Libya and constantly on the move.
"All of the leader's family are fine," Ibrahim said, adding that top military and political aides remained with Gadhafi.
Ibrahim claimed Gadhafi's forces controlled a "good portion" of the capital and other cities and towns. He also accused NATO of besieging Gadhafi strongholds such as Sirte.
An intense gunbattle broke out in the Tripoli neighborhood of Abu Salim, a pro-Gadhafi stronghold, yesterday and another erupted outside the Corinthia hotel where many foreign journalists are staying. About a dozen rebels with machine guns and an anti-aircraft gun fired on what appeared to be loyalist gunmen shooting from nearby high-rise buildings.
The rebels are struggling to take complete control of Tripoli, four days after they swept into the capital and sparked the collapse of Gadhafi's regime. Gadhafi has refused to surrender and vowed to fight on "until victory or martyrdom."
The rebel leadership has offered a US$2 million bounty on Gadhafi's head, and British Defense Secretary Liam Fox said yesterday that NATO was helping in the search for him.
Fox said NATO was "providing intelligence and reconnaissance assets to help in the hunt," and had been heavily active in carrying out overnight airstrikes against Gadhafi loyalists, but refused to say if British special forces were involved.
In Brussels, a NATO official said some airstrikes were launched because Gadhafi's forces had been detected trying to restore some of their damaged weapons systems, including surface-to-air missiles.
Rebels say one of their key targets now is Gadhafi's hometown of Sirte, about 400 kilometers from Tripoli, but acknowledged that capturing the city would not be easy because Gadhafi's fellow tribesmen were expected to put up a fierce fight. Opposition leaders have said they were trying to negotiate a peaceful surrender.
Mustafa Abdel-Jalil, head of the rebel National Transitional Council, called on people living in loyalist-held towns to join the fight against Gadhafi's soldiers.
"I am appealing to the areas not yet liberated to join the revolution," he said. "There is no excuse for them not to join."
Fawzi Abu Ketf, deputy defense minister of the rebel council, said fighting was raging outside Bin Jawad, 650 kilometers south of Tripoli yesterday, but he had no details.
Gadhafi loyalists had ambushed rebels advancing toward the city on Wednesday, killing at least 20 of them.
Wednesday's attack was carried out by pro-Gadhafi forces who had retreated from the oil city of Ras Lanouf after rebels captured that city earlier this week, said Ahmed Zeleity, a rebel commander.
The ambush showed that pro-regime forces retain the ability to strike back even as the rebels tighten their control over the nation's capital.
Rebels have also seized several parts of Sebha, another Gadhafi stronghold still holding out, including the main commercial Gamal Abdel-Nasser street, according to rebel official Adel al-Zintani. He said mercenaries from sub-Saharan African nations who had been paid by Gadhafi had fled the city, but loyal soldiers were continuing to hold firm.
Ketf said another challenge was the need to supply troops at the front. "The supply lines will be too long and we are short of funds and supplies," he said. The humanitarian situation there is increasingly difficult, he said, with lengthy power and water outages.
In Milan, Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi said Italy was preparing to release US$505 million in frozen assets in Italian banks, calling it the first payment.
Italy, Libya's former colonial ruler and biggest trading partner, has not disclosed the total Libyan assets held there.
Berlusconi made the announcement after meeting with the leader of Libya's rebel Cabinet, the second stop on a European diplomatic tour by Mahmoud Jibril aimed at securing the release of billions of dollars in frozen Libyan assets.
Meanwhile, four Italian journalists taken at gunpoint in Libya were freed in a raid on the house where they were being held, an official said.
Details of the raid and who conducted it were not immediately available.
The Italian Foreign Ministry confirmed that the four were freed, but had no further details.
The four were taken at gunpoint on Wednesday by forces loyal to Gadhafi. Their Libyan driver was killed.
"They shot the driver dead in front of us. We are fine, but our thoughts are with the driver who died. We have become close friends with him," Claudio Monici told reporters after their release.
A Maltese ship sent to evacuate foreigners from Tripoli turned back yesterday after fighting in the Libyan capital made the operation too risky.
The vessel was to evacuate at least 24 foreigners, but the Maltese government said the mission was aborted after it became impossible for people to reach the harbor due to fighting in the capital.
The Geneva-based group, the International Organization for Migration, however, said a ship chartered to rescue hundreds of foreigners in Tripoli had managed to dock.
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