Global News Post: Muammar Gaddafi

Gaddafi Spy Chief Arrested

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">MOSCOW (RIA Novosti)---The intelligence chief of late former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has been arrested in Mauritania, al Jazeera tevelision reported on Saturday.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Abdullah al-Senussi, Gaddafi's brother-in-law, was detained at Nouakchott airport as he arrived from the Moroccan city of Casablanca on a false Malian passport, Mauritanian security officials said.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The 63-year-old has been described as a hardliner and one of Gaddafi's closest aides. He fled Libya after Gaddafi was deposed and then killed in anuprising last year.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The International Criminal Court has indicted Senussi on two counts of crimes against humanity.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Gaddafi Spy Chief Arrested

MOSCOW (RIA Novosti)---The intelligence chief of late former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has been arrested in Mauritania, al Jazeera teve...

Libya to Discuss Trial Arrangements for Gadhafi Son with ICC

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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Libya</span></st1:country-region></st1:place><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">’s transitional government is preparing for talks with the International Criminal Court about where to hold a trial for Seif al-Islam Gadhafi, the captured son of the late Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo says he will travel to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Libya</st1:place></st1:country-region> in a week to discuss arrangements for the trial.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Libyan militiamen from the western town of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Zintan</st1:place></st1:city> captured Seif al-Islam before dawn Saturday in the country’s southern desert. Libyan transitional authorities later chartered a transport plane to fly him to Zintan. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Some Libyan officials have said they want the former heir apparent of Moammar Gadhafi to be tried in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Libya</st1:place></st1:country-region>. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The Netherlands-based ICC issued arrest warrants for Seif al-Islam, his father, and the late dictator’s intelligence chief in June, charging them with crimes against humanity for violently suppressing a pro-democracy uprising. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Libyan transitional fighters captured and killed Moammar Gadhafi in his hometown of Sirte on October 20. The former intelligence chief remains at large.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Libya</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">’s transitional Prime Minister Abdurrahim el-Keib visited Zintan on Saturday and praised the capture of Seif al-Islam as marking a new chapter for the country. Transitional forces launched the uprising in February and drove the senior Gadhafi out of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Tripoli</st1:place></st1:city> in August, ending the dictator’s 42-year rule.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Libyans celebrated Seif al-Islam’s capture with gunfire in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Tripoli</st1:place></st1:city> and other cities. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">In a statement Saturday, the U.S. State Department said the capture and trial of Seif al-Islam “would be another step away from a 40-year dark chapter in Libyan history” and help the Libyan people achieve “the peaceful and democratic future they deserve.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><st1:state w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Washington</span></st1:state><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> also urged <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Libya</st1:place></st1:country-region> to treat all prisoners humanely and in accordance with international standards. Transitional fighters who seized Moammar Gadhafi in Sirte were seen beating him before he died, prompting international concern about his treatment in custody.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The Libyan militiamen who captured Seif al-Islam say they got a tip that he would be traveling in a convoy on a desert track west of the Libyan town of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Obari</st1:place></st1:city>. They say they intercepted two vehicles in the area and identified Seif al-Islam before detaining him and several associates without a fight.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Photographs of Seif al-Islam after his capture showed the 39-year-old with a thick beard and wearing brown robes and a turban in the style of ethnic Tuaregs. Several of his fingers were bandaged due to injuries he said were sustained in a NATO airstrike. Journalists who flew with him to Zintan said he otherwise was in good condition after several months on the run. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Seif al-Islam’s appearance marked a transformation from his former image as an internationally-respected, British-educated reformer in his father’s autocratic government. He had become one of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Libya</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s and the world’s most wanted men for supporting Moammar Gadhafi’s crackdown on the uprising. ---VOA News<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Libya to Discuss Trial Arrangements for Gadhafi Son with ICC

Libya ’s transitional government is preparing for talks with the International Criminal Court about where to hold a trial for Seif al-Isla...

Niger: Saif al-Islam Gadhafi would be Transferred Over to ICC

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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">By Scott Stearns from <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Dakar</st1:place></st1:city></span></b><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The International Criminal Court (ICC) is trying to arrange the surrender of Saif al-Islam Gadhafi, who is on the run and could be heading for <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Niger</st1:country-region></st1:place>.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The new civilian government in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Niger</st1:country-region></st1:place> says the eldest son of late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi would be turned over to the court if he arrives in the country.<span>  </span><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Saif al-Islam Gadhafi has been on the run since he and his father, the late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, fled <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Tripoli</st1:place></st1:city> in August.<span>  </span>ICC prosecutors say they are trying to arrange his surrender on charges of crimes against humanity. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Throughout <st1:country-region w:st="on">Libya</st1:country-region>'s rebellion, several convoys of Gadhafi allies have crossed into <st1:country-region w:st="on">Niger</st1:country-region> on what the government in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Niamey</st1:place></st1:city> calls humanitarian grounds.<span>  </span><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Habi Mahamadou Salissou is a senior member of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Niger</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s coalition government.<span>  </span>He says surrender is Saif al-Islam's best option. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">If the International Criminal Court is in talks with him, Salissou says, it is best that Saif al-Islam go of his own accord, rather than be hunted and caught by Libyans, who, Salissou says, will end up killing him as they did his brother and father. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Salissou says <st1:country-region w:st="on">Niger</st1:country-region> does not know where Saif al-Islam is hiding, but that if he is in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Niger</st1:place></st1:country-region>, the government will discuss how best to transfer him to the International Criminal Court. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Because <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Niger</st1:place></st1:country-region> is a signatory to the international court, Salissou says, it is obliged to respect its commitments.<span>  </span>But it will do so while protecting the life of all those on Nigerien soil. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Moammar Gadhafi remains popular among ethnic Tuaregs in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Niger</st1:country-region> and <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Mali</st1:place></st1:country-region>, many of whom fought in his army.<span>  </span>The late Libyan leader backed, then helped negotiate the end of, Tuareg rebellions against the governments in <st1:city w:st="on">Niamey</st1:city> and <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Bamako</st1:place></st1:city>. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The two countries say they are working together with <st1:city w:st="on">Tripoli</st1:city>'s interim leaders to arrange for the return to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Libya</st1:place></st1:country-region> of some Tuareg veterans of the Gadhafi army.<span>  </span>Large groups of armed Tuaregs who fled <st1:country-region w:st="on">Libya</st1:country-region> are raising concerns about renewed instability in northern <st1:country-region w:st="on">Niger</st1:country-region> and <st1:country-region w:st="on">Mali</st1:country-region> as well as the spread of weapons to al-Qaida affiliated terrorists in the <st1:place w:st="on">Sahel</st1:place>. ---VOA News</div></div>

Niger: Saif al-Islam Gadhafi would be Transferred Over to ICC

By Scott Stearns from Dakar The International Criminal Court (ICC) is trying to arrange the surrender of Saif al-Islam Gadhafi, who is on...

ICC: Mercenaries Trying to Help Gadhafi's Son Flee

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 5pt 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The International Criminal Court says intermediaries have been in touch with a fugitive son of the late Libyan leader, Moammar Gadhafi, to discuss a possible surrender so he can face trial.<br />
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ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo also said Saturday the court has learned that mercenaries are trying to help Seif al-Islam Gadhafi flee to an African country.<br />
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Moreno-Ocampo said his office could order an interception of a plane trying to take him to another nation. Recent reports have said Seif al-Islam was traveling through the <place w:st="on">Sahara</place> to a neighboring country.<br />
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The ICC has charged Seif al-Islam Gadhafi with crimes against humanity. He is accused of killing civilian protesters during the uprising against his father's regime.<br />
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On Saturday, the Reuters news service quoted Moreno-Ocampo as saying Seif al-Islam told intermediaries he is innocent of the charges. <br />
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In other news, NATO is preparing to wrap up its seven-month-old <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Libya</place></country-region> mission on Monday. <br />
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NATO ministers approved a resolution Friday that will terminate the alliance's air campaign. NATO made its decision a day after the U.N. Security Council voted to cancel its mandate that established the mission. ---VOA News<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 5pt 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;"><br />
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ICC: Mercenaries Trying to Help Gadhafi's Son Flee

The International Criminal Court says intermediaries have been in touch with a fugitive son of the late Libyan leader, Moammar Gadhafi, to d...

Gaddafi’s Fugitive Son Says He Is Innocent

Gaddafi’s Fugitive Son Says He Is Innocent

Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi Must Be Transferred Safely – Amnesty

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">LONDON (NNN-KUNA) -- Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi must be allowed to surrender to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to face investigation for crimes against humanity, Amnesty International said last night. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Reports said that the fugitive son of Colonel Gaddafi is willing to turn himself in. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The ICC prosecutors said today the Court is in indirect contact with Saif Al-Islam over his possible surrender. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Former Libyan intelligence chief Abdullah Al-Senussi, who is also wanted for crimes against humanity by the ICC, is also reportedly prepared to face justice in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">The Hague</st1:place></st1:city>. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"If reports are correct that Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi and Abdullah Al-Senussi are willing to hand themselves over to the International Criminal Court, they must be allowed to do so and their safety and rights must be guaranteed," said Marek Marczynski from Amnesty International's International Justice Team in a statement. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"The National Transitional Council and neighbouring governments must ensure their safe detention and prompt transfer to <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">The   Hague</st1:place></st1:city> for investigation, whether they surrender voluntarily or are arrested and transferred." <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">In June, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi, along with Colonel Mu'ammar Al-Gaddafi and Abdullah Al-Senussi, on two counts of crimes against humanity - murder and persecution Saif Al-Islam reportedly fled <st1:country-region w:st="on">Libya</st1:country-region> to <st1:country-region w:st="on">Niger</st1:country-region>, where he has taken refuge among <st1:place w:st="on">Sahara</st1:place> nomads, following the killing of his father last week. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Abdullah Al-Senussi is reported to be in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Mali</st1:place></st1:country-region>. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Both men are believed to be at risk of suffering a similar fate to Mu'ammar Gaddafi and his son Mu'tassim Gaddafi, who were captured alive by anti-Gaddafi fighters and then allegedly killed. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"The NTC now has a responsibility to prevent similar harm coming to Saif Al-Islam Al-Gaddafi and Abdullah Al-Senussi, so that they can face justice for their alleged crimes in a fair trial," said Marek Marczynski. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"Investigating the men before the ICC offers an opportunity to ensure justice, truth and reparation for the victims of the crimes against humanity they are charged with committing against the Libyan people - justice that may have been denied if the unlawful killing of Colonel Mu'ammar Al-Gaddafi is confirmed", Amnesty concluded. --NNN-KUNA<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
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Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi Must Be Transferred Safely – Amnesty

LONDON (NNN-KUNA) -- Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi must be allowed to surrender to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to face investigation for...

Libya Vows to Prosecute Gadhafi Killers

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Libya</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">'s ruling National Transitional Council said Thursday it will prosecute the killers of ousted Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, if an investigation shows he died after his capture.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">NTC leaders have been under intense pressure to investigate the circumstances of Gadhafi's death last week after initially saying he was killed in crossfire after being pulled from a drainage pipe.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Video has raised the possibility he was shot and killed as provisional government forces stormed his hometown of Sirte. Witnesses have offered conflicting information as to how Gadhafi died.<span>  </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Libya's Deputy U.N. Ambassador Ibrahim Dabbashi said Wednesday initial reports show no transitional fighters shot at Gadhafi after he was arrested. Dabbashi told the U.N. Security Council the ousted leader was bleeding from his abdomen and head when he was arrested, and that he died after arriving at a hospital in Misrata.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">In other news, a lawyer representing former Libyan Prime Minister Al-Baghdadi Ali al-Mahmoudi said he has been freed by a Tunisian court. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Mahmoudi fled to <st1:country-region w:st="on">Tunisia</st1:country-region> after Gadhafi's regime collapsed in August, and was recently arrested while trying to cross into <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Algeria</st1:place></st1:country-region>. He went on a hunger strike to protest his possible extradition to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Libya</st1:place></st1:country-region>.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Last week, NATO announced preliminary plans to phase out its six-month-old air campaign on October 31. But <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Libya</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s interim leaders, citing security concerns, have urged NATO to continue its mission until at least the end of the year.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">NATO operations in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Libya</st1:place></st1:country-region> were launched under a Security Council resolution to protect civilians from attacks by Gadhafi's military during the conflict. --- VOA News<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">In <st1:state w:st="on">New York</st1:state>, the U.N. Security Council adopted a resolution Thursday that would end authorization of NATO's mission in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Libya</st1:place></st1:country-region>, despite calls from Libyan officials for the mission to be extended.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Libya Vows to Prosecute Gadhafi Killers

Libya 's ruling National Transitional Council said Thursday it will prosecute the killers of ousted Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, if a...

Gadhafi Buried in Secret Grave

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Libyan provisional authority officials say the body of late ousted leader Moammar Gadhafi has been buried in an unmarked grave in a secret location.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The officials said Gadhafi, his slain son Mutassim and former defense minister Abu Bakr Younis were buried early Tuesday during the same ceremony.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Gadhafi's body had been on public display since Friday in a commercial refrigerator in the port city of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Misrata</st1:place></st1:city>, where residents lined up to see it.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Meanwhile, a human rights group says there is a large amount of unsecured weapons in the area around Sirte, where Gadhafi was captured last week.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">New York-Based Human Rights Watch said Tuesday it had inspected two sites and found surface-to-air missiles, tank and mortar rounds, and other munitions.<span>  </span>The group said it visited the sites on Saturday, and found they had been heavily looted.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Human Rights Watch said it warned the National Transitional Council and NATO for months about the dangers of unguarded weapons, and that securing weapons facilities should be one of the provisional authority's top priorities.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Human Rights Watch has also asked <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Libya</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s new authorities to investigate a possible mass execution of suspected Gadhafi supporters during the battle for Sirte.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The group says it found the bodies of 53 people who appear to have been executed in an area that was controlled by NTC fighters at the apparent time of the deaths about a week earlier.<span>  </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">NTC head Mustafa Abdel Jalil said Monday he hopes that talks to form a new interim government will end in about two weeks. He also attempted to reassure Western powers that <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Libya</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s new leaders are "moderate Muslims."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">On Sunday, Jalil said Islamic Sharia law will be the main source of legislation for <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Libya</st1:place></st1:country-region> that laws contradicting its tenets will be nullified, and that polygamy will be legalized.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Monday the international community wants a democracy in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Libya</st1:place></st1:country-region> that meets human rights standards and serves to unify the country.<span>  </span>She said it is "time to move on" in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Libya</st1:place></st1:country-region>, and for the laws to fully respect the rights of women and minorities.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Jalil also said the NTC has ordered an investigation into Gadhafi's death, after the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region> government, rights groups and others called for the probe.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Libyan doctors performed an autopsy on Gadhafi's body in the city of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Misrata</st1:place></st1:city> Sunday and said he died of gunshot wounds to the head and abdomen during last week's takeover of Sirte. Cellphone video shows provisional government fighters taunting and beating a wounded Gadhafi shortly before he died.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Libyan officials said the former leader was shot in a crossfire between his loyalists and provisional government forces. Fighters on the scene have acknowledged beating the ousted leader after his capture.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Also in Sirte, officials and residents said a fuel tank explosion Monday killed at least 50 people. ---VOA News</span></div></div>

Gadhafi Buried in Secret Grave

Libyan provisional authority officials say the body of late ousted leader Moammar Gadhafi has been buried in an unmarked grave in a secret ...

UN Human Rights Office Calls for Probe into Gaddafi Death

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">MOSCOW</span></i></st1:place></st1:city><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> (RIA Novosti) - The UN human rights office has called for a probe into the death of deposed Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi who died after being captured alive last week, said Rupert Colville, a spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The human rights body condemns Gaddafi’s extrajudicial killing, adding that "Gaddafi's death had deprived his victims of a chance at 'cathartic' justice in the courts," <st1:place w:st="on">Colville</st1:place> said.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Libyan interim leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil also urged formation of a special commission to probe the dictator’s death, Agence <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">France</st1:country-region></st1:place> Press reported.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"In response to international calls, we have started to put in place a commission tasked with investigating the circumstances of Muammar Gaddafi's death in the clash with his circle as he was being captured," France Press quoted Jalil as saying.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Gaddafi, who ruled Libya for 42 years, died shortly after being captured by National Council fighters near his hometown of Sirte on Thursday.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Earlier <st1:country-region w:st="on">Russia</st1:country-region> and the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">United States</st1:country-region></st1:place> had called for an investigation into Gaddafi’s death.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div></div>

UN Human Rights Office Calls for Probe into Gaddafi Death

MOSCOW (RIA Novosti) - The UN human rights office has called for a probe into the death of deposed Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi who died ...

Gadhafi Remains Popular in Much of Africa's Sahel

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 8.0pt;">By Scott Stearns from <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Dakar</st1:city>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Senegal</st1:country-region></st1:place><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 8.0pt;"><span>  </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><span>  </span><span> </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">During the eight-month fight against him, Moammar Gadhafi remained popular throughout much of Africa's Sahel region, south of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Libya</st1:country-region></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Gadhafi's favored status in the Sahel came from long-running investments in public and private projects, as well as the feeling that he was someone who stood up for Africa.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">During the Libyan crisis, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Niger</st1:country-region></st1:place> allowed several convoys of former Gadhafi officials, including one of his sons, to cross into the country on humanitarian grounds. <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Burkina Faso</st1:country-region></st1:place> briefly offered to give Gadhafi asylum.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Some lament Gadhafi's demise<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">In the Burkinabe capital <st1:city w:st="on">Ouagadougou</st1:city>, businessman Marius Navarro said <st1:place w:st="on">Africa</st1:place> is poorer without Gadhafi.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Navarro said Gadhafi's death is a huge loss for <st1:place w:st="on">Africa</st1:place> and there is no doubt the continent will miss how much he did. Navarro said Gadhafi helped all of Africa, not only <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Libya</st1:country-region></st1:place>. And because Africa did not support Gadhafi when he needed it, Navarro said <st1:place w:st="on">Africa</st1:place> will ultimately come to regret losing him.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Gadhafi was one of the biggest financial contributors to the African <st1:place w:st="on">Union</st1:place>. Burkinabe student Assita Compaore wondered about the future of the alliance without him.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Compaore said Gadhafi helped develop many African countries and Africans should mourn his death. In <st1:country-region w:st="on">Burkina Faso</st1:country-region>, for example, he helped build a hotel and medical clinics, so Compaore said his death is a loss for the country and for all of <st1:place w:st="on">Africa</st1:place>. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Gadhafi admirers recall Gadhafi's support for <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">South   Africa</st1:country-region></st1:place>'s African National Congress in the 1970s. Gadhafi detractors recall his support for brutish rebellions in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Sierra Leone</st1:country-region> and <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Liberia</st1:country-region></st1:place> in the 1990s.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Downside of Gadhafi's patronage<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Burkinabe businessman Adama Badame said the ultimate cost of Gadhafi patronage was too high for <st1:place w:st="on">Africa</st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Badame said Gadhafi sold weapons to <st1:place w:st="on">Africa</st1:place> that Africans used to kill each other. He said he is happy that the former Libyan leader is dead because he was a terrorist. He gives you food, Badame said, but then he gives you weapons that you use to kill each other. So Badame said better to have not received food from Gadhafi because after the food comes weapons.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Senegalese religious leader Ahmed Khalifa Niasse was a long-time political adviser to Gadhafi. Niasse, whose family is a powerful part of Senegal's Islamic Tijani brotherhood, said Gadhafi's death was a stand against outside aggression.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“I think his death was in a very honorable condition, fighting with his gun the foreigners attacking him from the sky in his country where he was born,” said Niasse.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Nigerian human rights activist Shehu Sani is the author of the book Civilian Dictators of <st1:place w:st="on">Africa</st1:place>. He said the nature of Gadhafi's death makes him a martyr, whereas a trial would have exposed his brutality.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“No matter the crime he has committed, seeing a former president of a country being shot and dragged on the ground didn't go down well with people from this part of Africa,” said Sani.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Complicating factors of situation<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Niasse believes Libya's new government will find it hard to rule because its mandate comes not from the Libyan people, but rather from Gadhafi's European opponents.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“Sarkozy, Cameron, and later on Berlusconi, they asked him to step down. Nothing was started by Libyans. Everything starts somewhere between <st1:city w:st="on">Paris</st1:city>, <st1:city w:st="on">Rome</st1:city>, and <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">London</st1:city></st1:place>. There is no popular revolution in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Libya</st1:country-region></st1:place>,” said Niasse.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">There was a popular revolution in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Libya</st1:country-region></st1:place>. But NATO's involvement does distinguish it from popular uprisings in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Tunisia</st1:country-region> and <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Egypt</st1:country-region></st1:place>, which were largely unaided by foreign power. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Sani said that raises questions in the minds of Libya's southern neighbors about the priorities of a new government at a time of continuing concern about its treatment of sub-Saharan Africans, including ethnic Tuaregs who were part of Gadhafi's army.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“There is this anger in West Africa and the Sahel that black Africans have been targeted by elements of the rebel council and the new government in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Libya</st1:country-region></st1:place>,” said Sani.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Despite NATO support, Sani said <st1:country-region w:st="on">Libya</st1:country-region>'s neighbors are still Africans, and the security demands of a new government in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Tripoli</st1:city></st1:place> will depend largely on the security of those neighbors. ---VOA News<o:p></o:p></span></i></div></div>

Gadhafi Remains Popular in Much of Africa's Sahel

By Scott Stearns from Dakar , Senegal During the eight-month fight against him, Moammar Gadhafi remained popular throughout much of A...

Gadhafi's 42-Year Reign Marked By Controversy

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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Moammar Gadhafi was in power from 1969 after he deposed King Idris in a military coup until National Transitional Council fighters overran his compound in August.<span>  </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">National Transitional Council officials say the former Libyan leader was reportedly killed Wednesday as transitional fighters took control of Gadhafi's hometown.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Sirte was the last remaining bastion controlled by Gadhafi loyalist.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Colonel Gadhafi gained a reputation as an eccentric, donning flowing robes and animal skins and surrounding himself with all female bodyguards.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Labeled the "mad dog of the <st1:place w:st="on">Middle East</st1:place>" by former U.S. President Ronald Reagan, the Libyan leader drew attention for his often-controversial political decisions.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">He has supported a number of revolutionary movements around the world, including in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Chad</st1:country-region> and <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Iran</st1:place></st1:country-region>. He has been accused of sponsoring Islamic militant groups and terrorist attacks.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">In 1986, U.S. President Reagan ordered air strikes in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Libya</st1:country-region> because of the Gadhafi government's alleged involvement in the bombing of a German nightclub that killed two <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region> servicemen. Gadhafi's adopted daughter died in the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region> raid.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Just two years later, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Libya</st1:country-region> was blamed for the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over the Scottish town of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Lockerbie</st1:place></st1:city> that killed 270 people. Gadhafi admitted responsibility for the attack in 2003 and agreed to pay victims' families more than $2 billion in compensation.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">That same year, the Libyan leader agreed to renounce terrorism and weapons of mass destruction, clearing the way for the lifting of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region> and European sanctions imposed after the German disco bombing, and the restoring of diplomatic relations. The United Nations also lifted its sanctions related to the Lockerbie bombing.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">But the goodwill did not last long. Gadhafi fought to hold onto power against a large-scale uprising that began in February. He was under immense international pressure to step down after responding to the uprising with deadly violence. The government crackdown on protesters prompted new international sanctions against <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Libya</st1:place></st1:country-region>, and in March, NATO began an air campaign against Gadhafi's forces under a U.N. mandate to protect the Libyan people. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Born in 1942 to a Bedouin family in the Libyan desert, Gadhafi graduated from the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Libya</st1:placename></st1:place> and became an army officer.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Less than a decade after taking control of the country at age 27, he invented a system of government called the "Jamahiriya," Arabic for "state of the masses." In theory, the system was to be run by people's committees, with Gadhafi assuming the title of "Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution." But in reality, he quashed dissent and reportedly survived several assassination attempts. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Gadhafi was a strong advocate of the ideology of Arab unity known as Pan-Arabism, and also led a Pan-African effort seeking to unify African nations. ---VOA News<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Gadhafi's 42-Year Reign Marked By Controversy

Moammar Gadhafi was in power from 1969 after he deposed King Idris in a military coup until National Transitional Council fighters overran...

Africans Shed Few Tears for Gadhafi

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 8.0pt;">By Gabe Joselow from <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Nairobi</st1:place></st1:city><o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The reaction to the death of former Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi has been mostly subdued across sub-Saharan <st1:place w:st="on">Africa</st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">While Gadhafi's strongman governing style may not be missed, his economic contributions to the continent certainly will.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The death of a man who once declared himself the King of Kings of Africa, has been met with more relief than grief across the continent.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Lessons from Gadhafi's fall<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">On Twitter and Facebook, Africans are mostly cheering Gadhafi's demise, and wondering if other African strongmen will be next, with fingers pointed at <st1:country-region w:st="on">Uganda</st1:country-region>'s Yoweri Museveni and <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Zimbabwe</st1:country-region></st1:place>'s Robert Mugabe.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Gadhafi's death is an unfortunate example of African leaders wanting to stay in power forever, says Nigerian social worker Mary Ene.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"This is a lesson to our leaders in this part of the world to know that power belongs to God and that God can take power from anybody anytime. It is time for our leaders to look beyond trying to grab all the things that belong to the public for their own pockets, for their own families,” Ene said.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Praise and legacy<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Zimbabwe</span></st1:country-region></st1:place><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">'s ruling ZANU-PF party offered some of the only words of sympathy for Gadhafi. The party's parliamentary whip told VOA's Studio 7 that his death was tragic and the African Union should have done more to prevent it.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Ugandan Government Spokesman Fred Opolot also had some praise for the man who invested so much in <st1:place w:st="on">Africa</st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“Gadhafi will be remembered in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Uganda</st1:country-region></st1:place> as a Pan-Africanist who contributed a lot to the workings of the African Union," Opolot said. "Also in individual countries he contributed a lot in foreign direct investment and let's not forget, he was a key proponent for African unity, so in that context, Gadhafi will be missed.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Gadhafi's government enjoyed closer relations with <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Uganda</st1:place></st1:country-region>, and had invested $375 million in various projects in the country through its investment wing.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Economic generosity<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Signs of Gadhafi's economic influence are all over <st1:place w:st="on">East Africa</st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">A Libyan-financed hotel towers over <st1:country-region w:st="on">Sudan</st1:country-region>'s capital, <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Khartoum</st1:place></st1:city>, and has been nicknamed Gadhafi's egg because of its unique shape. Other Libyan luxury hotels stand tall in the capitals of <st1:country-region w:st="on">Kenya</st1:country-region> and <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Rwanda</st1:place></st1:country-region>.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The country also has been one of the biggest contributors to the African Development Bank.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Peter Pham, Director of the <st1:placename w:st="on">Africa</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Center</st1:placetype> at the Atlantic Council in <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Washington</st1:place></st1:state>, told VOA in August that with the fall of his government, Gadhafi's legacy of investment will likely become unraveled.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“Libya now needs to spend its money at home, it needs resources both for reconstruction, not only from the damage from the war, but also from the lack of investment in Libya, the neglect during Gadhafi's almost 42 years in power," said Pham. "So I think a lot of money will have to come home, so there probably will be a liquidation of many of these assets.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Pham adds that it is unlikely <st1:country-region w:st="on">Libya</st1:country-region>'s new leadership will be as invested in <st1:place w:st="on">Africa</st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“There's going to be a lot of resentment to Africa, both because of money that's been spent there and, secondly, because the African Union and many African leaders, with a few notable exceptions, stood by Gadhafi instead of with the Libyan people,” said Pham.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">A promoter of African unity<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Gadhafi was instrumental in the formation of the African Union, and the international body was slow to accept <st1:country-region w:st="on">Libya</st1:country-region>'s Transitional National Council as the rightful government of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Libya</st1:country-region></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Following news of Gadhafi's death, the AU lifted its suspension of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Libya</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s membership, allowing the new government to take its seat.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The AU officially recognized <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Libya</st1:country-region></st1:place>'s new government in September, and raised the country's new flag last week. ---VOA News<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Africans Shed Few Tears for Gadhafi

By Gabe Joselow from Nairobi The reaction to the death of former Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi has been mostly subdued across sub-Saharan ...

Libyans Celebrate Death of Gadhafi

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</tbody></table><b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 7pt;">By Elizabeth Arrott from <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Cairo</st1:city></st1:place></span></b><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">Celebrations are underway across Libya, where officials of the interim government say the country's former leader Moammar Gadhafi has been killed, and other members of his inner circle captured or also dead.  The killing came as fighters loyal to the National Transitional Council took control of Gadhafi's hometown of Sirte, and the last major stronghold of the old government.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">Libya</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">'s provisional government officials say that Moammar Gadhafi was killed during a battle for control of Sirte.  The prime minister of <st1:country-region w:st="on">Libya</st1:country-region>'s National Transitional Council, Mahmoud Jibril, confirmed Gadhafi's death at a news conference in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Tripoli</st1:place></st1:city>.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">Jibril said Libyans have been waiting for what he called "this historic moment."  He said an investigation as to how and by whom Gadhafi was killed is underway. Video of what appeared to be Gadhafi's lifeless body, on the ground and partially unclothed, appeared midday Thursday.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">Later, Arabic television channels showed what appeared to be Gadhafi shortly after his capture, still alive and struggling with those around him. The images spread quickly, and across <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Libya</st1:place></st1:country-region>, where he had ruled with a ruthless grip for four decades, the news prompted massive, spontaneous celebrations.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">In <st1:city w:st="on">Tripoli</st1:city>'s main Martyrs' Square, crowds gathered and cheered the news as the definitive end to a dark period in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Libya</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s history. An engineer, who gave only his first name, Osama, describes the scene.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">"All the people go out and they celebrate and feel so happy about the end of this Gadhafi's regime and everyone, even the families, the children, the old people, all are out to celebrate this moment.  This moment is very happiness moment now,"<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">His friend, Fitori Abdl Khadr, also speaking to VOA by phone from <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Tripoli</st1:place></st1:city>, says he has no regret that Gadhafi was killed, rather than face justice in a trial.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">Abdl Khadr, who took part in the NTC's capture of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Tripoli</st1:place></st1:city> two months ago, says sentiment on the streets is that his death brings "this farce" to an end.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">In <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Benghazi</st1:place></st1:city>, thousands turned out on the streets where the uprising against Gadhafi began nine months ago.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">The end of Gadhafi's two months on the run and the capture of Sirte mark a turning point in the NTC's efforts to consolidate its control of the country.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">NTC officials have said control of Sirte would set in motion a series of political moves leading to elections, a new government and a new constitution - a massive undertaking in a country  where the majority had known nothing "but the arbitrary rule of one man." <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">The capture of Sirte follows NTC success in another pro-Gadhafi bastion, Bani Walid, earlier this week.  Fighting still continues in southern areas of the country, the vast desert regions bordering <st1:country-region w:st="on">Niger</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Algeria</st1:country-region> and <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Chad</st1:place></st1:country-region>.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">But control of Gadhafi's hometown provides a geographic as well as symbolic victory, uniting the main population corridor along the coast from east to west.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><st1:country-region w:st="on"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">Libya</span></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"> scholar Ziad Akl of the <st1:placename w:st="on">Ahram</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Center</st1:placetype> in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cairo</st1:place></st1:city> says Gadhafi forces are in a struggle for survival.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">"The forces that are pro-Gadhafi, first of all, they are not politically organized, they are not strategically outlined, and they are not fighting actually to gain ground.  They are simply trying to defend the positions they have and stop the revolution from moving on and this is a time- constrained battle," said Akl.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">A major portion of that battle ended Thursday with Gadhafi's body reportedly shipped to a mosque in Misrata. ---VOA News<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Libyans Celebrate Death of Gadhafi

Obama: Gadhafi Death Ends Long, Painful Chapter for Libya

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">By Kent Klein from White House</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">President Barack Obama says the death of former Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi ends what he calls a long and painful chapter, after decades of rule by an iron fist. Officials say the president was briefed early Thursday about Gadhafi’s death.<span>  </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">President Obama said he is very proud of the NATO alliance’s work in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Libya</st1:place></st1:country-region>, and of the Libyan people’s efforts to topple their longtime leader.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">In a White House meeting, the president thanked <st1:country-region w:st="on">Norway</st1:country-region>’s Prime Minister, Jens Stoltenberg, for his country’s contributions to the NATO mission in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Libya</st1:place></st1:country-region>, and stressed the importance of international cooperation.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“We were proud of the leadership we showed in that process, but increasingly, wherever we have the possibility of working with outstanding partners like <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Norway</st1:place></st1:country-region>, then I think that we are going to be even more effective,” Obama said.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Earlier Thursday, White House spokesman Jay Carney said the killing of Gadhafi will end the NATO mission in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Libya</st1:place></st1:country-region>, which started in March to protect Libyan civilians from Gadhafi’s forces.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“Not just because of the announcement of Gadhafi’s death, but because of the successful taking of Sirte and other areas, most of Libya is now under control of rebel forces, under control of the TNC,” Carney said.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Carney said the Transitional National Council, which is governing <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Libya</st1:place></st1:country-region>, is the only authority which is claiming to be in charge.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Mr. Obama’s spokesman echoed the president’s call for the TNC to build a democratic government as quickly as possible.<span>  </span>He said the group has consistently promised to do so.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“It has been a number of months since we recognized the TNC, and we have, even prior to that, been engaged diplomatically with the TNC, as have our allies.<span>  </span>So we have a good feeling for and understanding of that body, and we would simply point you to the statements that they have made about their commitment to a democratic transition in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Libya</st1:place></st1:country-region>,” Carney said.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Carney said the <st1:country-region w:st="on">United States</st1:country-region> will work with other countries to assist <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Libya</st1:place></st1:country-region> in its transition to democracy.<span>  </span>He did not specify how that would be done.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">He also said <st1:state w:st="on">Washington</st1:state> is calling on <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Libya</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s leaders to consolidate military forces under civilian control and work to control dangerous materials.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The White House spokesman indicated that <st1:country-region w:st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region> military intervention in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Syria</st1:place></st1:country-region>, to drive out that country’s president, Bashar al-Assad, is not likely.<span>  </span>But he said the movement called the “Arab Spring” will likely touch <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Syria</st1:place></st1:country-region> as well.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“The events of this entire year in that region of the world have spoken more dramatically than any individual could about where the future lies in that region.<span>  </span>And it is a future that lies with the youth of the region and those who are demanding greater democracy, greater accountability from their governments, greater freedom.<span>  </span>That is as true in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Syria</st1:country-region> as it is in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Libya</st1:place></st1:country-region>,” Carney said.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Carney said the president was informed about Gadhafi’s death at his daily security briefing Thursday, but was aware of reports about the event earlier in the day. ---VOA News<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Obama: Gadhafi Death Ends Long, Painful Chapter for Libya

By Kent Klein from White House President Barack Obama says the death of former Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi ends what he calls a long and...

Libya's NTC Forces Take Most of Gadhafi Stronghold

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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 8.0pt;">By Edward Yeranianfrom Cairo<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><span> </span><span> </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7u53CYFqJabjYyJjGCQTuXNHPKOmwFzI0Hlj2YbjxSzv3J2hiR2xIAHk6jE3tE0gc1d0cGJXZES0aSpbVqtbQEVru68sRh2TB6xoTa7RKoxq-OoNAB-TZO9t2j8plLbFLUapvuFFAnWU/s1600/Libya%252BCurious%252BMap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7u53CYFqJabjYyJjGCQTuXNHPKOmwFzI0Hlj2YbjxSzv3J2hiR2xIAHk6jE3tE0gc1d0cGJXZES0aSpbVqtbQEVru68sRh2TB6xoTa7RKoxq-OoNAB-TZO9t2j8plLbFLUapvuFFAnWU/s320/Libya%252BCurious%252BMap.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><st1:country-region w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Libya</span></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">'s NTC forces are claiming to have taken most of the town of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Bani Walid</st1:place></st1:city>, where loyalists to former leader Moammar Gadhafi have been holed up and mounting a spirited resistance since late August. Fierce resistance by Gadhafi loyalists continues, however, in the coastal enclave of Sirte. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Interim government forces fired shells and mortar bombs at a pocket of resistance inside the coastal town of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Sirte</st1:place></st1:city> Monday, amid fierce fighting by a small but tenacious band of loyalists to Mr. Gadhafi. Farther south, interim government forces are claiming to control 85 percent of the Gadhafi stronghold of Bani Walid.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Reports say the Warfalla tribe, <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Libya</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s largest, is trying to negotiate the surrender of Bani Walid with the NTC. The tribe, to which Mr. Gadhafi's wife belongs, is seeking a deal with <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Libya</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s new rulers.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Col. Abdullah Naker, who heads the Tripoli Revolutionary Council told journalists that NTC fighters have taken the center of Bani Walid, where they raised the flag of the new interim government. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Naker says NTC forces are making progress in finishing off resistance from Gadhafi loyalists in Sirte, but he is worried that one of Mr. Gadhafi's sons, who is leading the resistance there, might find a way to escape the city.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">NTC gains, however, may be short-lived.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Omar Ashour, who teaches political science at the <st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Exeter</st1:placename> in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Britain</st1:place></st1:country-region>, says the new interim government has a weak national army and that most of the country is controlled by hundreds of small militias. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“There is a national army more or less controlled by Gen. Suleiman Mahmoud of Tobruk. The problem with it is that it's not the only armed force in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Libya</st1:place></st1:country-region> right now and it has very limited influence on possibly 100 or so armed militias. In <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Tripoli</st1:place></st1:city>, you have a militia controlling part of the north, another militia controlling part of the south, a third militia controlling the airport, and obviously this makes things very decentralized and at some points chaotic.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Libya</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">'s new leaders have said they will begin the political process of forming a democratic government once they have captured Sirte. But Ashour worries how armed factions could hinder that process. ---VOA News<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Libya's NTC Forces Take Most of Gadhafi Stronghold

By Edward Yeranianfrom Cairo Libya 's NTC forces are claiming to have taken most of the town of Bani Walid , where loyalists to f...

Libyans Demolish Gadhafi Compound in Tripoli

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<h2 style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;"><i><br />
</i></span></h2><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Libyans, using bulldozers, have started to demolish the walls around the main <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Tripoli</st1:place></st1:city> complex of ousted leader Moammar Gadhafi.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">National Transitional Council fighters overran the sprawling Bab al-Aziziyah compound in August. Many Gadhafi opponents see the walled compound, which covers some six square kilometers, as a glaring symbol of the former leader's 42-year autocratic rule.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The NTC interim government is leading the country until elections are held.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">NTC officials have said the capture of the former leader's hometown, Sirte, would allow them to declare the country liberated. Battles still rage in the city as Gadhafi loyalists fight to hold their pockets of resistance.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The former Libyan leader's whereabouts are still unknown. The International Criminal Court at <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">The Hague</st1:city></st1:place> has issued a warrant for his arrest on charges of crimes against humanity. ---VOA News<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Libyans Demolish Gadhafi Compound in Tripoli

Libyans, using bulldozers, have started to demolish the walls around the main Tripoli complex of ousted leader Moammar Gadhafi. National...

Libya's Gadhafi Loyalists Fight to Hold Sirte

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Well-armed loyalists of former Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi have slowed an advance by provisional government fighters who have been trying to gain control of the coastal town of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Sirte</st1:place></st1:city>. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The National Transitional Council (NTC) fighters say they had to retreat in part of the town on Thursday under heavy artillery fire. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">NTC officials also backtracked on reports that one of Gadhafi's sons was arrested in Sirte. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">On Wednesday, some NTC officials said the former leader's son, Mutassim, had been detained and taken to the eastern city of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Benghazi</st1:place></st1:city> for questioning. But provisional government officials later said the reports could not be confirmed. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">NTC officials say revolutionary forces did capture some fighters believed to be with Mutassim in Sirte. Mutassim was <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Libya</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s national security adviser and had a strong role in the military and security forces under his father's government.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">There have been false reports regarding the capture of senior Gadhafi figures in the past, including that of another son, Saif al-Islam, who is still on the run.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">VOA's Paul Westpheling speaks with Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty Interantional's researcher for North Africa in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">London</st1:place></st1:city>, for details:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Meanwhile, Amnesty International is urging the NTC to end arbitrary detentions and "widespread abuse" of detainees, saying there is a risk of repeating patterns of Gadhafi's rule.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">In a report released Thursday, the London-based rights group said it found a pattern of beatings and ill-treatment of pro-Gadhafi soldiers, suspected loyalists and alleged mercenaries in western <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Libya</st1:place></st1:country-region>.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The group said its findings are based on interviews of about 300 prisoners during August and September. ---VOA News<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Libya's Gadhafi Loyalists Fight to Hold Sirte

Well-armed loyalists of former Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi have slowed an advance by provisional government fighters who have been trying...

UN diplomat delivers sobering report on Libya

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">UNITED NATIONS (RIA Novosti)- </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">A report by the UN special envoy to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Libya</st1:place></st1:country-region> has fueled concerns among UN diplomats over the effectiveness of the UN efforts to stabilize the situation in the country.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Ian Martin, who heads the UN Support Mission to Libya (UNSMIL), briefed members of the 15-country Security Council via video-link on Thursday that the political situation and the security conditions in the war-torn country remained worrisome.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Russia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">'s envoy to the UN Vitaly Churkin called Martin’s report “open and sobering.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“The situation [in Libya] is far from stable, there are many security concerns, the fighting is still on, violations of human rights and international humanitarian law have been registered,” Churkin told reporters after a closed-door meeting of the UN Security Council.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“The Libyan authorities clearly need support, an effective UN mission, and that is where the Security Council will concentrate its efforts in the next few months,” Churkin said.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Key areas of the UN support to new Libyan authorities include the assistance in drafting constitution and organizing elections, the delivery of humanitarian aid, and the disbursement of unfrozen Libyan funds.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The UNSMIL was set up by the UN Security Council on September 17 with an initial period of three months to help restore public security and initiate economic recovery in the North African country.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Libyan rebels started a six-month military campaign, assisted by NATO, against the Gaddafi regime in mid-February. The international NATO-led military operation began on March 19 following a UN resolution on "targeted measures" to protect civilians.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Following months of fierce fighting that claimed hundreds of lives, the Libyan Transitional National Council has established control over most of the country’s territory, including the capital of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Tripoli</st1:place></st1:city>.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Gaddafi loyalists, however, still maintain control of several Libyan towns, including Gaddafi’s home town of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Sirte</st1:place></st1:city>, which has been a site of heavy fighting for the past few weeks.</span><span class="cr"><span style="background: white; color: #838383; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 4.5pt;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/crobj/3234064928/sizes/o/"><span style="color: #838383; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><br />
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UN diplomat delivers sobering report on Libya

UNITED NATIONS (RIA Novosti)- A report by the UN special envoy to Libya has fueled concerns among UN diplomats over the effectiveness of ...

Libya’s NTC: Gadhafi’s Son Mutassim Captured in Sirte

Libya’s NTC: Gadhafi’s Son Mutassim Captured in Sirte

Libya 's provisional government says Moammar Gadhafi's son Mutassim has been arrested in the coastal city of Sirte . National Tra...