Speculation Gaddafi headed for Zimbabwe

Embattled Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi is headed for Zimbabwean or Angolan exile under a South African-brokered deal, Al Jazeera has reported. However, SA International Relations minister Maite Nkoane-Mashabane has scorched reports that Pretoria has scrambled jets to rescue the eccentric leader.

Speculation over South Africa’s role has risen over the new African National Congress leadership’s perceived ties with Gaddafi and President Jacob Zuma’s May trip to Tripoli, but the minister emphasised that they had no role in the north African leader’s woes.

Nkoana-Mashabane said, had only sent planes to neighbouring Tunisia for evacuating its citizens and would take a cue in any diplomatic actions or help from an African Union meeting slated for Saturday.

While word had it that Gaddafi would be airlifted out of Libya, the National Transitional Council (NTC)’s Mahmoud Shamam said it was unlikely that the planes were meant for that purpose as the airport was under rebel control. He also said he did not believe the long-time Libyan ruler was still in the capital.

NTC chairman Mustafa Mohammed Abdul Jalil said they would halt their offensive if Gaddafi announced his departure. “We will give Colonel Gaddafi and his sons a safe passage out of the country,” he told Al Jazeera.

She said, though, that Pretoria was keen to help Libya in its rebuilding exercise or efforts, including the drafting of a new constitution and referendum. In the meantime, Gaddafi is seen as headed for Harare or Angola due to his close ties with President Robert Mugabe and the Luanda administration.

While Zimbabwean Foreign Affairs minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi was not immediately available for comment Monday, the Libyan ruler has supported Mugabe’s government and Zanu PF party over the years. Earlier this year, one of his captured sons Saif al-Islam was in Zimbabwe to wrap up commercial deals in tourism and other sectors.

Al Jazeera said euphoric Libyan rebels have moved into Tripoli, as Gaddafi’s defenders melted away and thousands rushed out of their homes to cheer the long convoys of trucks packed with fighters shooting in the air.

The rebels’ leap forward, after six months of a largely deadlocked civil war, was packed into just a few dramatic hours. By nightfall on Sunday, they had advanced more than 32km into Tripoli. Rebels met little resistance, as they moved from the western outskirts into the capital.

“There’s a party in the Libyan capital tonight. The people are in charge of the city. They’ve decided the square is now called Martyrs’ Square, the original name. They’re shouting ‘We’re free’ and shooting at a poster of Gaddafi,” the Arabic cable network said.

Abdul Hakim Belhaj, the Tripoli battalion commander for the opposition NTC said, “We want to thank God for this victory, we call on the residents to protect the city, we call on remaining parts of the regime to surrender and join the opposition.”

Green Square, which has now been renamed Martyrs Square by the rebels, had been the site of rallies by Gaddafi’s supporters throughout the uprising.

“Hundreds are on the street, and most of them are armed. Most of these are fighters who came down from the mountains in western areas of Libya. They entered the capital a few hours ago and with the opposition inside the capital, have managed to liberate the city from the government’s control,” an Al Jazeera correspondent said.

“People are worried about sleeper cells, but cleaning up operations are under way to make sure there are no snipers in the buildings nearby. People are confident that the government has fallen and they are in control.”

Pockets of fighters who are still loyal to Gaddafi still control parts of the city – including the areas around Gaddafi’s Bab al-Azizia compound in the south of the city. Agence France Presse reported that there was heavy gunfire in the city early Monday morning.

Jalil said: “I warn you, there are still pockets of resistance in and around Tripoli.”

NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said there was no formal co-ordination between the military alliance, which has waged a months-long air campaign against Gaddafi and the rebels on the ground. “What we’re seeing tonight is the regime crumbling,” she said.

There was no word on Gaddafi’s whereabouts, but he has delivered a series of angry and defiant audio messages in recent days – vowing not to surrender. In the latest one, he acknowledged that the advancement of opposition forces on Tripoli and warned the city would be turned into another Baghdad.

“How come you allow Tripoli, the capital, to be under occupation once again?” he said. “The traitors are paving the way for the occupation forces to be deployed in Tripoli.” Earlier, rebels announced Saif had been arrested at a tourist village in western Tripoli.

Luis Moreno-Ocampo, a prosecutor at the International Criminal Court, confirmed that Gaddafi’s closest son had been detained and the ICC was in contact with the NTC about his transfer to The Hague where the court is based.

Saif, his father and Libya’s intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi, were indicted earlier this year for allegedly ordering, planning and participating in illegal attacks on civilians in the early days of the violent crackdown on anti-regime protesters. Meanwhile, Gaddafi’s eldest son Mohammed surrendered to rebel forces and spoke to Al Jazeera shortly afterwards.

In the interview, he took an apologetic tone and said it was a lack of wisdom that caused the revolution and crisis in Libya. “I’ve never been a government or security official, however I can tell you the absence of wisdom and foresight is what brought us to here today. Our differences could have been solved easily,” he said.

As he spoke though, his house was attacked and shot at and the interview ended with the sound of gunfire. “I’m being attacked right now,” he said. “This is gunfire inside my house, they’re inside my house. There is no God but Allah – no God but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger.”

However, the NTC head said Mohammed was not hurt. “Neither Mohamed Muammar Gaddafi nor any one of his family was harmed,” Jalil said. “He will remain in his house, and I guarantee his safety.”

There were no confirmed reports about the whereabouts of other members of the Gaddafi family. US President Barak Obama said Gaddafi must “acknowledge the reality that he no longer controls Libya. He needs to relinquish power once and for all”. 

“The future of Libya is now in the hands of the Libyan people,” he said, promising to work in close co-ordination with the rebels and that the US would “continue to insist that the basic rights of the Libyan people are respected.” Rebels in the west have taken numerous towns in the past month. – Daily News with Al Jazeera