TRIPOLI/BENGHAZI – Libya’s interim leader gave forces loyal to deposed ruler Muammar Gadafy a four-day deadline yesterday to surrender towns they still control or face a bloody conclusion to a war in which the new leadership said 50,000 have so far been killed.
As the hunt for Gadafy goes on, Libyan officials accused Algeria of an act of aggression for giving refuge to his fleeing wife and three of his children, as well as, it turned out, to another grand-daughter, born yesterday.
Algeria’s foreign ministry said Gadafy’s wife Safia, and his sons Hannibal and Mohammed, had entered Algeria on Monday morning, along with their children. His pregnant daughter Aisha was also among the party and she gave birth within a day to a girl, a source close to Algeria’s health ministry said. The incident stirred a diplomatic row as Libya’s interim council works to consolidate its authority and capture places still loyal to Gadafy, notably the coastal city of Sirte.
Anti-Gadafy forces have converged on Sirte from east and west, but have stopped short of an all-out assault in hopes of arranging a negotiated surrender of Gadafy’s birthplace.
“By Saturday, if there are no peaceful indications for implementing this, we will decide this matter militarily. We do not wish to do so, but we cannot wait longer,” said Mustafa Abdel Jalil, head of Libya’s interim council.
Gadafy’s whereabouts have been unknown since the rebels seized his Tripoli compound on August 23rd. Britain’s Sky News, citing a young bodyguard of Gadafy’s son Khamis, said the Libyan leader had stayed in Tripoli until Friday when he left for the southern desert town of Sabha. It quoted the captured 17-year-old as saying Gadafy met Khamis, a feared military commander, at about 1.30pm on Friday in a Tripoli compound that was under heavy rebel fire.
Gadafy had arrived by car and was soon joined by Aisha. After a short meeting, they boarded four-wheel drive vehicles and left, the bodyguard told a Sky reporter, adding that his officer had told him: “They’re going to Sabha.”
Along with Sirte, Sabha is one of the remaining pro-Gadafy strong points. – (Reuters)