Libyan minister in custody as hunt continues
Source: Agencies |
September 2, 2011, Friday
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REBELS hunting the top officials in Moammar's Gadhafi's ousted regime have captured his foreign minister and are closing in on Gadhafi himself, rebel officials said yesterday.
The announcement, made on the 42nd anniversary of the coup that brought Gadhafi to power, also came as rebels forces pressed toward three major bastions of the crumbling regime, including Gadhafi's hometown.
Yesterday marked the coup against the monarchy of King Idris by 27-year-old Gadhafi and a group of military officers. Gadhafi took undisputed power and became a symbol of anti-Western defiance in a Third World recently liberated from its European colonial rulers. His regime was unchallenged until the uprising that began in February.
Ahmed Said, an adviser to the interior minister in the rebels' interim government, did not identify the captured foreign minister by name, but "can confirm that he is in custody."
A week ago, Foreign Minister Abdul Ati al-Obeidi told British broadcaster Channel 4 that Gadhafi's rule was over.
After six months of civil war, rebels have seized control of most of Libya, including the capital Tripoli, effectively ending Gadhafi's rule. The longtime leader and his family have not been captured, but rebels say they are hot on Gadhafi's trail.
Rebels say they are carefully pulling together clues about Gadhafi's whereabouts from captured regime fighters and others, and learned earlier this week that Gadhafi and two of his sons - heir-apparent Seif al-Islam and former special forces commander al-Saadi - were in the loyalist town of Bani Walid, said Ghoga. But, he added, it's not clear where they are now.
A NATO statement said their forces launched airstrikes on Wednesday against Sirte, and near Bani Walid and Hun, a town midway between Sirte and Sabha. Their targets included missile launchers, an ammunition storage site and a tank.
Hassan al-Saghir, a rebel official who oversees an area that includes Sabha, repeated an ultimatum for Gadhafi's supporters to surrender by Saturday, but said there were no signs that they would.
"I think they still think they are able to control the south," he said. "It is a desperate attempt and it will not last long."
Rebels at checkpoints leading toward Bani Walid said yesterday they had been ordered to remain in their positions until Saturday.
The announcement, made on the 42nd anniversary of the coup that brought Gadhafi to power, also came as rebels forces pressed toward three major bastions of the crumbling regime, including Gadhafi's hometown.
Yesterday marked the coup against the monarchy of King Idris by 27-year-old Gadhafi and a group of military officers. Gadhafi took undisputed power and became a symbol of anti-Western defiance in a Third World recently liberated from its European colonial rulers. His regime was unchallenged until the uprising that began in February.
Ahmed Said, an adviser to the interior minister in the rebels' interim government, did not identify the captured foreign minister by name, but "can confirm that he is in custody."
A week ago, Foreign Minister Abdul Ati al-Obeidi told British broadcaster Channel 4 that Gadhafi's rule was over.
After six months of civil war, rebels have seized control of most of Libya, including the capital Tripoli, effectively ending Gadhafi's rule. The longtime leader and his family have not been captured, but rebels say they are hot on Gadhafi's trail.
Rebels say they are carefully pulling together clues about Gadhafi's whereabouts from captured regime fighters and others, and learned earlier this week that Gadhafi and two of his sons - heir-apparent Seif al-Islam and former special forces commander al-Saadi - were in the loyalist town of Bani Walid, said Ghoga. But, he added, it's not clear where they are now.
A NATO statement said their forces launched airstrikes on Wednesday against Sirte, and near Bani Walid and Hun, a town midway between Sirte and Sabha. Their targets included missile launchers, an ammunition storage site and a tank.
Hassan al-Saghir, a rebel official who oversees an area that includes Sabha, repeated an ultimatum for Gadhafi's supporters to surrender by Saturday, but said there were no signs that they would.
"I think they still think they are able to control the south," he said. "It is a desperate attempt and it will not last long."
Rebels at checkpoints leading toward Bani Walid said yesterday they had been ordered to remain in their positions until Saturday.
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