Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. Photo credit: B.R.Q.
They seek him here, they seek him there, those Libyan rebels seek him everywhere. Although it’s not the Scarlet Pimpernel whose whereabouts are so tantalising: it’s the elusive Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.
Libyan rebels are now ready to attack the remaining rebel strongholds of Bani Wald, Sabha and Sirte. But now where is Gaddafi? Reports indicate that he’s left the desert town of Bani Walid, and is making his way south to Chad or Niger, aided by tribes loyal to him. Reuters reported that Hisham Buhagiar, who’s leading the charge to find the ex-Libyan dictator, says that Gaddafi may be travelling in convoy and “using a tent as shelter.”
“It’s the tent. We know that he doesn’t want to stay in a house, so he stays in a tent. People say the cars came, and then they made a tent,” Hisam Buhagiar told Reuters, adding that his sources had not actually seen Gaddafi themselves.
Gaddafi is thought to be seeking refuge in a friendly African country such as Niger, Burkina Faso or Mali, touting his tribal origins and the fact that he’s always played up his African leadership.
Niger has made an offer of asylum to Gaddafi. A convoy has crossed over into the country, but according to the Associated Press, it contained groups of Gaddafi’s officials, although The Daily Telegraph say it’s very hard to tell who exactly was in that convoy. The Niger foreign minister has told the BBC that whilst Gaddafi himself has not crossed the border, it’s impossible to close it. Whilst The Guardian reported on the horrible living conditions of Gaddafi’s female bodyguards.
“BREAKING: Gaddafi is either in Niger, Burkina Faso, Venezuela, South Africa, Bani Walid, Sirte, Tripoli, or a hole in the desert somewhere,” Foreign Policy‘s Blake Hounshell tweeted yesterday.
However, the Associated Press have reported that the downfallen despot has broadcast an audio message to his followers, claiming that he’s still, actually, in Libya. Whilst the tape couldn’t be verified, it did “strongly resemble” the leader’s “voice and style.”
“Frizz-head, we’re coming to get you,” went a rebel chant, as reported in The Daily Telegraph.
- Can you remember where you last had him? The Atlantic Wire showed a map of possible locations for Gaddafi over the last two weeks: he’s allegedly meant to have been in Tripoli, Bani Walid, Sirte, Sabha and Ghat.
“We are ready to start the fight in Tripoli and everywhere else, and rise up against them. All of these germs, rats and scumbags, they are not Libyans, ask anyone,” said Gaddafi in the audio clip, which was reported on Associated Press.
- Is he trapped? The Daily Telegraph learned from Anis Sharif, a spokesman for Tripoli’s new military council, that Gaddafi had been “tracked using high technology and human intelligence,” and that he’s “trapped within a 40-mile-radius.” CNN said that the rebels won’t disclose the location of his whereabouts, but say he’s got no way out. The news website said it was unable to independently verify these claims. So we’re still looking…
