Libyan Loyalists

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Libyan Loyalists

The fate of the former Libyan leader Muammar al Qaddafi remains unclear as a spokesman said on Tuesday that he was going to fight his way back to power, in spite of the fact that a large convoy was spotted crossing the desert from Libya into neighboring Niger. On Tuesday, tribal elders were attempting to persuade loyalists to lay down weapons and surrender to the new regime. They were offered assurances that they will not suffer oppression from the rebel troops.

Qaddafi’s spokesman said in a defiant tone that the former leader was in good shape and was preparing the defense of Libya and that he was fighting for the sake of all Arabs in the world.

In a rhetoric reminding of the last days in power of Saddam Hussein, Qaddafi’s spokesman said that the forces the colonel still commands are strong enough to turn the tables on NATO.

The convoy that passed into Niger was said to have been composed of up to 250 armored vehicles full of well-armed Libyan soldiers, and was led by Rissa ag Boula, a leader of the Tuareg rebels who staged a coup in the neighboring Niger ten years ago, and sought sanctuary in Libya after the rebellion failed. It is believed that the convoy came from Algeria.

It is known that Qaddafi’s troops included Tuareg battalions and it is also supposed that he is the one to have financed the Tuareg rebellion. It is for this that the Tuareg nations, including Niger, were the last African nations to recognize the rebel government.

The reports of a local newspaper did not include any references to the possibility that members of Qaddafi family be in this convoy. NATO admitted they did not possess any information on this convoy, given that their aviation never ventured this far inside the Sahara desert, focusing on the territory that lies within 30 km from the coastal zone. The National Transitional Council announced that according to their sources ten cars carried gold and cash from Libya to Niger.

It possible that Qaddafi passed into Niger as well, or could do so soon, to settle in the city of Agadez, in northern Niger, where he is still very popular among the Tuareg population there for his contributions to the autonomy fight of these people. However, there are reports that he is still in Libya. There is a possibility that he could meet at some point with the convoy that passed into Niger on their way to Burkina Fasso, where he was promised asylum.

Qaddafi’s whereabouts remain unknown, even though a bounty has been placed by the rebels on his head, and an international arrest warrant has been issued in his name.

Muammar al Qaddafi

There are reports of the rebels that say that Qaddafi is in one of the strongholds that still fight against the them, most likely in his hometown Sirte, which refused to surrender and continued the fight even though other places have been convinced by rebels to lay down weapons.

Some members of the family have been received by Algeria, and his son Khamis is thought to have been killed by the rebels.

Last week the rebels received funds from the international conference on Libya held in Paris so that they may restart economy and pay the basic social services the country needs so desperately after six months of civil war.

France had to deny on that occasion that it had made oil trades with Libya, because the enemies of the military intervention against Qaddafi were quick to say that he had been right that France was in for the oil.

The National Transitional Council said last week that no foreign troops of any sort would be stationed on Libyan territory, but that UN observers are welcome to come to Tripoli and help preparing the first elections in the history of this country, which are expected to be held next April.

Libya was received in the Arab League once more, marking the shift in policy from the African Union to the Arab League. Qaddafi turned to the African Union in the 1980s, and held the office of chairman of this continental body in the 2000s.

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