AMID the increasing unrest in Libya, there was uncertainty about the whereabouts of the country’s leader, Muammar Gaddafi, yesterday.
While there were earlier media reports that Gaddafi fled to Venezuela, his son, Seif al-Islam Gaddafi, said that his father remained in Libya.
Broadcasters Al-Arabiya, among others, had previously posted unconfirmed report that the Libyan dictator had flown to Latin America, perhaps Venezuela, citing sources from opposition groups in Libya.
Appearing on state television, Seif also declared that his father was in charge of the country with the support of the army. In a rambling speech, he said that his father would “fight ... to the last bullet.”
After nearly a week of a deepening crisis in Libya, Seif warned that the country risked a civil war that would destroy the country’s oil wealth.
“We are not Tunisia and Egypt,” he stated. “Muammar Gaddafi, our leader, is leading the battle in Tripoli, and we are with him. The armed forces are with him. Tens of thousands are heading here to be with him. We will fight until the last man, the last woman and the last bullet.”
Seif al-Islam Gaddafi, who has been leading the campaign to quell the popular uprising that has reportedly led to the fleeing of his father, has been wounded in gunfire, the Muslim Brotherhood has said, citing unofficial reports. The report also says Gaddafi, his wife and daughter have fled the country.
The frontline Egyptian Opposition group that took an active role in the ouster of Hosni Mubarak, said on its website that 38-year-old Seif al-Islam, the second son of Gaddafi, had been wounded in gunfire, but gave no further details.
“Unofficial reports proliferating that Seif al-Islam Gaddafi was wounded by gunfire, while his father has fled with his wife and daughter,” the website said in a terse report on the unfolding events in Libya, where more than 200 people have been reportedly killed ever since anti-government protests erupted last week.
Rumours have been rife at the weekend that the flashy dictator, who has been in power for more than 41 years, has run away to Venezuela.
But reacting, Susan Rice, the United States (U.S.) Ambassador to the United Nations (UN), said the Obama administration was very concerned about reported armed attacks by Libyan security forces on peaceful protesters in the eastern city of Benghazi.
Late Sunday, the European Union (EU), according to Reuters, denounced the repression against peaceful demonstrators and urged authorities in Tripoli to exercise restraint faced with peaceful demonstrators.
Several ministers attending the regular monthly meeting in Brussels also expressed concern about a possible massive increase in the flow of illegal migrants from North Africa in the wake of the popular unrest in the region.
We’ve condemned that violence, Rice told “Meet the Press” on NBC. “Our view is that in Libya, as throughout the region peaceful protests need to be respected,” she said.
The United Kingdom (UK) government yesterday summoned the Libyan ambassador to London to protest over a deadly crackdown blamed for hundreds of demonstrators’ deaths.
We have summoned the Libyan ambassador in London to the Foreign Office today to register our absolute condemnation of the use of lethal force against demonstrators, Foreign Secretary William Hague told reporters on arrival for talks among EU counterparts in Brussels.
Hague also said he called Seif al-Islam yesterday to express strong disapproval.
The protests and violence were the heaviest yet in the capital, a sign of the spread of unrest after six days of demonstrations in eastern cities demanding the end of the elder Gaddafi’s rule.
Witnesses said early yesterday, protesters took over the office of two of the multiple state-run satellite news channels
They added that in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, government buildings were set on fire as opposition activists battle security forces and government supporters in a sharp escalation of an uprising against Gaddafi.
South Korea said hundreds of Libyan looters stormed a South Korean construction site near Tripoli, sparking a fight that injured 18 foreign workers, including 15 Bangladeshis and three South Koreans.
About 500 people, some carrying weapons, invaded the construction site 30 kilometres west of the Libyan capital late Sunday into early yesterday. South Korean Foreign Ministry said the site employs 1,600 Bangladeshis and 40 to 50 South Koreans.
South Korea said two Bangladeshis were stabbed by the rioters and seriously injured, while the injuries to the three South Koreans were not serious.
South Korea’s Yonhap news agency said Libyan looters also have raided several South Korean construction sites in the country’s east since anti-government protests erupted in the North African nation last week.
In Libya’s second biggest city, Benghazi, protesters were in control of the streets after days of bloody clashes and were swarming over the main security headquarters, looting weapons, several residents said. A Turkish Airlines flight trying to land in Benghazi yesterday was forced to circle over the airport then return to Istanbul.
Protesters in Benghazi took down the Libyan flag from above the city’s main courthouse and in its place raised the flag of the country’s old monarchy, toppled in 1969 in the military coup that brought Gaddafi to power, one witness said.
The violence spread to Tripoli after days of protests in Benghazi, Libya’s second largest city, in which at least 233 people have been killed, according to Human Rights Watch.
Communications are tightly controlled and Benghazi is not accessible to international journalists, but the picture that has emerged is of a city slipping from the grasp of security forces in the biggest challenge to Gaddafi’s rule since the brotherly leader seized power in a 1969 military coup.
A resident in Tripoli told Reuters by telephone he could hear gunshots. I was inside the house and the lights are out. There are gunshots in the street, he said. That’s what I heard, gunshots and people. I cannot go outside.
An expatriate worker said: Some anti-government demonstrators are gathering in the residential complexes. The police are dispersing them. I can also see burning cars.
Al Jazeera television yesterday said thousands of protesters clashed with supporters of Gaddafi in Tripoli’s Green Square.
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com