[Home] [Headlines] [Latest Articles] [Latest Comments] [Post] [Mail] [Sign-in] [Setup] [Help] [Register]
|
Status: Not Logged In; Sign In
Obama Wars Title: Qaddafi Vows Martyrdom or Victory as Libyan Opposition Intensifies Search Muammar Qaddafi vowed “martyrdom” or victory a day after Libyan rebels overran his Bab Al Aziziya compound in Tripoli. Qaddafi, 69, also called on his supporters to “cleanse” Tripoli of “rats,” Al Arabiya television reported, citing a recording of comments broadcast early today by a local radio station. Rebels continued to battle pockets of resistance throughout Tripoli, including in Bab Al Aziziya, where Qaddafi snipers are stationed, Al Jazeera television said. Fighting flared elsewhere, rebel officials said, including around the southern city of Sabha, a Qaddafi stronghold and home to a major military base. “As long as Qaddafi remains in Libya, then there will be no security,” Abdel Hafiz Ghoga, vice chairman of the rebel National Transitional Council, said in a telephone interview yesterday from Benghazi. “He must be finished off, either through death or capture.” Opposition forces raised their flag over the compound yesterday after weeks of stalemate in the six-month conflict. As both sides claimed victory, transitional council Chairman Mustafa Abdel Jalil said he was sending a delegation to Tripoli to prepare for the body’s move from Benghazi to the capital. Jalil has urged rebel fighters to respect law and order, while Mahmoud Jibril, the council’s prime minister, called on Libyans to unite to build a “modern nation.” A scud missile fired by pro-Qaddafi forces was intercepted early today above Misrata, the military council in the opposition-controlled coastal city said. A bright orange light illuminated the sky over the area at about 1:35 a.m. local time, while two explosions rattled windows across the city. “After the transition and elections, people who suffered injustices will regain their rights,” Jibril said at a press conference yesterday in Doha, Qatar. Qaddafi’s spokesman, Mousa Ibrahim, said in a speech broadcast by Al Arabiya that the government had carried out preparations “to transform Libya into an open-resistance arena till we reach victory.” Rebel fighters, some in black-painted jeeps with mounted machine guns, were shown in news broadcasts yesterday entering the broken gates of the Bab Al Aziziya compound. Groups of fighters were seen ripping posters of Qaddafi off walls, tearing the head off a bronze statue of Qaddafi, and carrying away items including hats, a golden rifle and jewelry. “I think it is time now for Colonel Qaddafi to stop issuing delusional statements and to recognize that control of the country is not going to return,” U.K. Foreign Secretary William Hague told a news conference today in London. “He should be telling his dwindling and remaining forces to stand down.” Hague said that “we have no idea” where Qaddafi is. The conflict has all but halted oil exports from Libya, which has the largest proven reserves of any African country. Output dropped to 100,000 barrels a day in July, down from the 1.6 million barrels pumped before the uprising started. Brent crude gained 25 percent to $126.65 a barrel in the first two months of the uprising. Brent rose 3 cents to $109.34 a barrel as of 1:09 p.m. on London’s ICE Futures Europe Exchange after trading as high as $109.94. The U.S. is working to release as much as $1.5 billion of frozen Libyan assets, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said at a briefing in Washington. Arab foreign ministers, meeting in Doha, yesterday called on the United Nations Security Council to permit the release of $2.5 billion in frozen Libyan assets to be used to meet humanitarian needs before the holiday of Eid al-Fitr in a week, marking the end of the Muslim fasting period of Ramadan. Nicaragua, which supported Qaddafi as the uprising against him grew, would grant him political asylum if requested, Bayardo Arce, an adviser to Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, told reporters in Managua. Roland Lavoie, a NATO spokesman, said yesterday he would “not risk going into percentages” on how much of Tripoli the Libyan rebels held. The fighting in the capital is “very serious and very dangerous,” he said. Rebels have encountered resistance in areas around the capital. Opposition fighters were deployed Aug. 22 to areas south of Zlitan, 150 kilometers (93 miles) southeast of Tripoli, and missiles have been fired at Misrata, to the east, from Qaddafi’s hometown of Sirte. Qaddafi’s forces launched an unguided, short-range missile at the eastern city of Brega two days ago, for the first time during the conflict, Carmen Romero, spokeswoman for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which began its air campaign in March, told reporters yesterday in Brussels. Rebels have gained hold of the eastern edge of Brega, NATO said. Poor security at the port in Tripoli delayed the docking of a rescue ship, leaving thousands of foreigners stranded at their embassies, the Geneva-based International Organization for Migration said in a statement yesterday. Even as the fighting continued, rebel and western leaders looked ahead to a transition of power. U.S. President Barack Obama said Aug. 22 that “the Qaddafi regime is coming to an end, and the future of Libya is in the hands of its people.” Russia won’t recognize the Libyan rebel forces as the nation’s new government as long as fighting continues, Mikhail Margelov, Russia’s special envoy to Africa and the Middle East, said today in a telephone interview in Moscow. German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle urged the UN Security Council yesterday to pass a resolution allowing countries to release frozen Libyan assets to help finance reconstruction “as soon as possible.”
Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread |
|
[Home] [Headlines] [Latest Articles] [Latest Comments] [Post] [Mail] [Sign-in] [Setup] [Help] [Register]
|