Col. Gadaffi vows to stay in power
Mar 24, 2011
“WE will not surrender,†Gaddafi, breathing defiance, yesterday told supporters forming a human shield to protect him at his Tripoli compound, which came under attack in 1986 from the US and once again in the current round of air strikes.
TRIPOLI
“WE will not surrender,†Gaddafi, breathing defiance, yesterday told supporters forming a human shield to protect him at his Tripoli compound, which came under attack in 1986 from the US and once again in the current round of air strikes.
“We will defeat them by any means ... We are ready for the fight, whether it will be a short or a long one ... We will be victorious in the end,†he said in an apparently live television broadcast, his first public appearance since the air strikes began.
“This assault ... is by a bunch of fascists who will end up in the dustbin of history,†Gaddafi said in a speech followed by fireworks in the capital as crowds cheered and supporters fired in air.
At least two explosions were heard in the Libyan capital Tripoli before dawn on Wednesday on a fourth night of strikes and Gadaffi looked set to dig in for the long haul.
Despite Gadaffi’s boasts, there were reports that the Libyan leader may be looking for a way out of the conflict.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said people close to Gadaffi have been contacting Libya’s allies worldwide to see how they can “get out of this.â€
Clinton also said the US government had received unconfirmed reports that at least one of Gadaffi’s sons may have been killed in air strikes, but added that it was not US forces that would have killed him.
Rebels name leader
In another development, Libya’s rebel national council based in the east has named Mahmoud Jabril head of an interim government and pick ministers, according to Al Jazeera.
Jabril, a reformer who was once involved in a project to establish a democratic state in Libya, is already the head of a crisis committee to cover military and foreign affairs.
Bodies in streets
“I saw bodies in the streets. I also buried and washed some myself as they’re rotting in the morgue,†said a man who declined to give his name.
There was a freshly dug grave on the roadside outside Ajdabiyah with a revolutionary flag planted in it.
Retaking Ajdabiyah would suggest that air strikes by Western jets are giving rebels an edge over Gadaffi’s better-armed forces.
Gadaffi tanks silenced
In yet another development, Western warplanes silenced Gaddafi’s artillery and tanks besieging the rebel-held town of Misrata yesterday.
Gaddafi’s tanks had kept up the shelling of Misrata, killing dozens of people this week. Residents said a “massacre†was taking place.
“Before the strikes, tanks shelled the city ... but now they haven’t fired a single artillery since the air strike,†Saadoun, a Misrata resident, told Reuters.
Prior to the Misrata strikes, US Rear Admiral Peg Klein said warplanes, which had been suppressing Libya’s air defences, would be sent out to attack Gaddafi’s tanks.
“We are authorised, and the president made the nexus between the Security Council resolution and what he considers our legal mandate to attack those tanks,†said Klein.
Gadaffi bombards Zintan
However, Gadaffi forces yesterday resumed their bombardment of Zintan, another rebel-held town in west Libya, a resident said.
“Troops backed with tanks and vehicles are coming. We appeal to the allied forces to come and protect civilians,†a resident, Abdulrahman, told Reuters.
Sanctions on Libya oil
European Union governments yesterday imposed sanctions on Libya’s National Oil Company in line with last week’s UN resolution.
The European Union has also imposed a series of further sanctions, such as asset freezes, over the past month against Gadaffi and firms associated with him or his inner circle.
Ad hoc committee boosted
Meanwhile, the European Union yesterday announced sh840m ($265,000) in financial support to the African Union (AU) ad hoc high level committee on Libya, according to a statement from the EU delegation office in Kampala.
The ad hoc committee was set up by a decision of the AU Peace and Security Council early this month. It consists of presidents Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz (Mauritania), Denis Sassou Nguesso (Republic of Congo) and Amadou Toumani Touré (Mali), Jacob Zuma (South Africa) and Yoweri Museveni (Uganda).
Are you a Ugandan in Libya? Share your experiences and the situation with us. Send comments to news@newvision.co.ug
“WE will not surrender,†Gaddafi, breathing defiance, yesterday told supporters forming a human shield to protect him at his Tripoli compound, which came under attack in 1986 from the US and once again in the current round of air strikes.
“We will defeat them by any means ... We are ready for the fight, whether it will be a short or a long one ... We will be victorious in the end,†he said in an apparently live television broadcast, his first public appearance since the air strikes began.
“This assault ... is by a bunch of fascists who will end up in the dustbin of history,†Gaddafi said in a speech followed by fireworks in the capital as crowds cheered and supporters fired in air.
At least two explosions were heard in the Libyan capital Tripoli before dawn on Wednesday on a fourth night of strikes and Gadaffi looked set to dig in for the long haul.
Despite Gadaffi’s boasts, there were reports that the Libyan leader may be looking for a way out of the conflict.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said people close to Gadaffi have been contacting Libya’s allies worldwide to see how they can “get out of this.â€
Clinton also said the US government had received unconfirmed reports that at least one of Gadaffi’s sons may have been killed in air strikes, but added that it was not US forces that would have killed him.
Rebels name leader
In another development, Libya’s rebel national council based in the east has named Mahmoud Jabril head of an interim government and pick ministers, according to Al Jazeera.
Jabril, a reformer who was once involved in a project to establish a democratic state in Libya, is already the head of a crisis committee to cover military and foreign affairs.
Bodies in streets
“I saw bodies in the streets. I also buried and washed some myself as they’re rotting in the morgue,†said a man who declined to give his name.
There was a freshly dug grave on the roadside outside Ajdabiyah with a revolutionary flag planted in it.
Retaking Ajdabiyah would suggest that air strikes by Western jets are giving rebels an edge over Gadaffi’s better-armed forces.
Gadaffi tanks silenced
In yet another development, Western warplanes silenced Gaddafi’s artillery and tanks besieging the rebel-held town of Misrata yesterday.
Gaddafi’s tanks had kept up the shelling of Misrata, killing dozens of people this week. Residents said a “massacre†was taking place.
“Before the strikes, tanks shelled the city ... but now they haven’t fired a single artillery since the air strike,†Saadoun, a Misrata resident, told Reuters.
Prior to the Misrata strikes, US Rear Admiral Peg Klein said warplanes, which had been suppressing Libya’s air defences, would be sent out to attack Gaddafi’s tanks.
“We are authorised, and the president made the nexus between the Security Council resolution and what he considers our legal mandate to attack those tanks,†said Klein.
Gadaffi bombards Zintan
However, Gadaffi forces yesterday resumed their bombardment of Zintan, another rebel-held town in west Libya, a resident said.
“Troops backed with tanks and vehicles are coming. We appeal to the allied forces to come and protect civilians,†a resident, Abdulrahman, told Reuters.
Sanctions on Libya oil
European Union governments yesterday imposed sanctions on Libya’s National Oil Company in line with last week’s UN resolution.
The European Union has also imposed a series of further sanctions, such as asset freezes, over the past month against Gadaffi and firms associated with him or his inner circle.
Ad hoc committee boosted
Meanwhile, the European Union yesterday announced sh840m ($265,000) in financial support to the African Union (AU) ad hoc high level committee on Libya, according to a statement from the EU delegation office in Kampala.
The ad hoc committee was set up by a decision of the AU Peace and Security Council early this month. It consists of presidents Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz (Mauritania), Denis Sassou Nguesso (Republic of Congo) and Amadou Toumani Touré (Mali), Jacob Zuma (South Africa) and Yoweri Museveni (Uganda).
Are you a Ugandan in Libya? Share your experiences and the situation with us. Send comments to news@newvision.co.ug