NATO told to maintain pressure in Libya fight
Source: Agencies |
August 30, 2011, Tuesday
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LIBYAN rebel leaders asked NATO yesterday to keep up pressure on elements of Moammar Gadhafi's regime and to protect those struggling to restore electricity and water to the battle-scarred capital of Tripoli.
National Transitional Council head Mustafa Abdul-Jalil told senior NATO envoys meeting in the Gulf Arab nation of Qatar that Gadhafi, who has been in hiding since rebels captured Tripoli a week ago, can still cause trouble.
"Gadhafi is still capable of doing something awful in the last moments," Abdul-Jalil told military chiefs of staff and other key defense officials from NATO nations including France, Italy and Turkey.
"Even after the fighting ends, we still need logistical and military support from NATO," he added. NATO has been bombing Gadhafi's forces since March under a United Nations mandate to protect Libyan civilians.
Rebels appear to have secured the capital after a week of fierce fighting in which they captured Gadhafi's compound and then cleared loyalists holed up in the residential neighborhood of Abu Salim nearby.
Despite effectively ending his rule, the rebels have yet to find Gadhafi or his family members - something that has cast a pall of lingering uncertainty over the opposition's victory.
Gadhafi's hometown of Sirte, about 320 kilometers east of Tripoli, is still a bastion of support and some have even speculated that the ousted leader himself may have fled there.
Rebels have been converging from the east and west on Sirte, preparing to do battle with Gadhafi loyalists.
However, no fighting has been reported there yet and rebel leaders say they are trying to negotiate a peaceful surrender with local tribes to avoid further bloodshed.
Rebels say they want to take Gadhafi alive so they can try him in Libya.
"We hope that Gadhafi is still in Libya so we can rid the world of this insect," rebel military spokesman Ahmed Bani said.
"The only way to treat this pest is to make him accountable for the crimes in Libya."
Bani also said rebel forces may have killed Gadhafi's son Khamis in a clash on Saturday. Rebels clashed with a military convoy in the town of Tarhouna, 80 kilometers southeast of Tripoli, destroying two vehicles in the convoy. The bodies in the cars were burned beyond recognition, he said, but a captured soldier said they were Khamis Gadhafi's bodyguards.
Gadhafi's regime sought to break the uprising that broke out mid-February by using lethal force on protesters and locking up thousands people. Bani said nearly 50,000 people are still missing following six months of civil war.
He said they have released some 10,000 prisoners from his regime lockups.
"That poses a question among Libyans: What happened to the rest of the prisoners?" he told reporters in the eastern city of Benghazi Sunday.
Teams are searching for mass graves, Bani added.
National Transitional Council head Mustafa Abdul-Jalil told senior NATO envoys meeting in the Gulf Arab nation of Qatar that Gadhafi, who has been in hiding since rebels captured Tripoli a week ago, can still cause trouble.
"Gadhafi is still capable of doing something awful in the last moments," Abdul-Jalil told military chiefs of staff and other key defense officials from NATO nations including France, Italy and Turkey.
"Even after the fighting ends, we still need logistical and military support from NATO," he added. NATO has been bombing Gadhafi's forces since March under a United Nations mandate to protect Libyan civilians.
Rebels appear to have secured the capital after a week of fierce fighting in which they captured Gadhafi's compound and then cleared loyalists holed up in the residential neighborhood of Abu Salim nearby.
Despite effectively ending his rule, the rebels have yet to find Gadhafi or his family members - something that has cast a pall of lingering uncertainty over the opposition's victory.
Gadhafi's hometown of Sirte, about 320 kilometers east of Tripoli, is still a bastion of support and some have even speculated that the ousted leader himself may have fled there.
Rebels have been converging from the east and west on Sirte, preparing to do battle with Gadhafi loyalists.
However, no fighting has been reported there yet and rebel leaders say they are trying to negotiate a peaceful surrender with local tribes to avoid further bloodshed.
Rebels say they want to take Gadhafi alive so they can try him in Libya.
"We hope that Gadhafi is still in Libya so we can rid the world of this insect," rebel military spokesman Ahmed Bani said.
"The only way to treat this pest is to make him accountable for the crimes in Libya."
Bani also said rebel forces may have killed Gadhafi's son Khamis in a clash on Saturday. Rebels clashed with a military convoy in the town of Tarhouna, 80 kilometers southeast of Tripoli, destroying two vehicles in the convoy. The bodies in the cars were burned beyond recognition, he said, but a captured soldier said they were Khamis Gadhafi's bodyguards.
Gadhafi's regime sought to break the uprising that broke out mid-February by using lethal force on protesters and locking up thousands people. Bani said nearly 50,000 people are still missing following six months of civil war.
He said they have released some 10,000 prisoners from his regime lockups.
"That poses a question among Libyans: What happened to the rest of the prisoners?" he told reporters in the eastern city of Benghazi Sunday.
Teams are searching for mass graves, Bani added.
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