Missing Gaddafi regime members reportedly captured in and around Bani Walid
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[t]http://www.aljazeera.com/mritems/Images/2011/8/21/2011821115111142734_20.jpg[/t]
[url]http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2012/10/2012102014924315670.html[/url]
[quote=AJE]Moussa Ibrahim, who served as the last spokesman for deposed Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, has been arrested in a town southwest of the capital Tripoli, according to the prime minister's office.
Mustafa Abu Shagur, Libya's deputy prime minister, confirmed the news on Saturday on microblogging site Twitter with the following post: "Criminal Moussa Ibrahim was arrested and he is now on his way to Tripoli."
A brief statement sent to journalists after rumours that Ibrahim had been detained spread on social networking sites said: "Moussa Ibrahim was arrested at a checkpoint in the town of Tarhuna.
"[He] is being taken to Tripoli where he will be handed over to the pertinent authorities to begin questioning."
Al Jazeera's Omar al-Saleh, reporting from Tripoli, said that Ibrahim was captured as he fled the town of Bani Walid, which has been the scene of deadly clashes in recent days.
"The town of Bani Walid has been besieged for the last three weeks. Government forces and former rebels are trying to enter the city to capture wanted Gaddafi loyalists," he said.
"So the town has a reputation of being a safe haven for Gaddafi loyalists."
Rumours of Ibrahim's arrest and that of other personalities of the former regime said to be fleeing from Bani Walid had swirled since Saturday morning but officials were unable to provide immediate confirmation.
[B]Liberation incomplete[/B]
The announcement of the arrest came just hours after Libya's de facto head of state said that not all areas of the country had been liberated.
"The campaign to liberate the country has not been fully completed," Mohamed al-Magarief said on state television on Saturday in remarks on the first anniversary of Gaddafi's death.
He singled out Bani Walid, which was one of the final strongholds of Gaddafi's regime during the war that overthrew and killed him.
Rebel fighters captured Gaddafi in his hometown, Sirte, but exactly how Gaddafi was killed on October 20, 2011, remains a point of contention.
"Bani Walid's misfortune is that it has become a sanctuary for a large number of outlaws and anti-revolutionaries and mercenaries," Magarief said.
Magarief, the president of the democratically elected General National Congress, also noted "delays and negligence" in the formation of a professional army and police force, and the failure to disarm and integrate former rebels.
He also said delays in reactivating and reforming the judiciary had hampered national reconciliation.
"This situation has created a state of discontent and tension among different segments of society and contributed to the spread of chaos, disorder, corruption and weakness in the performance of various government agencies," he said.[/quote]
[url]http://www.libyaherald.com/?p=16456[/url]
[quote=Libya Herald][img]http://imgkk.com/i/p3r8.jpg[/img]
[i]Photo purportedly of Moussa Ibrahim in hospital in Misrata (courtesy of Ziad Libya)[/i]
The Qaddafi regime’s media spokesman, Moussa Ibrahim, has been reported as captured in Bani Walid and is now said to be under arrest in hospital in Misrata. Photos purportedly of him there are being circulated on Facebook.
Around 30 other Qaddafi figures are also said to have been caught in the past 24 hours in and around the town, both as a result of fighting there and when the national army entered it early today.
The names of several have been mentioned, including those of General Abdurrahman Al-Sid, Muftah Kaayiba, and Ramadan Bashir.
At least one other top Qaddafi figure, Colonel Milad Al-Faqhi, was also reported to have been captured shortly after midday while escaping the besieged town in a four-wheel vehicle. Qaddafi’s military spokesman and the man accused of being responsible for the siege and assault on Zawia last year, Faqhi is said to have been taken to Mtiga airbase in Tripoli.
He was reported killed in May last year when a NATO strike hit an intelligence headquarters in Tripoli.
[img]http://imgkk.com/i/dy-k.jpg[/img]
[I]Al-Faqhi last year[/I]
Car horns in the capital were being hooted during the afternoon as news spread of the captures However, there has been no official confirmation of any names.
“We know that Moussa Ibrahim was in Bani Walid,” said one Western ambassador in Tripoli today. “We also know that as many as 30 Qaddafi supporters have been captured in the town”, he added but did not know their identities.
According to official reports, the capture of numerous former regime officials and commanders followed the national army’ entry into Bani Walid from the east side at sunrise this morning. Sources said that it was being helped in its house-to-house searches by local residents. However, the Libya Herald’s George Grant was in Sufageen Valley to the east of Bani Walid this morning and saw no sign of any military activity.
There is also a degree of scepticism in Tripoli that such a large number of former regime figures could so conveniently be captured on the first anniversary of Qaddafi’s death.
However, it is claimed that the fighting in Bani Walid today has been intense. Earlier this afternoon, it was reported that up to that point 10 Misratan men had been wounded during the day.
The whereabouts of Moussa Ibrahim, whose constant aggressive denial of reality last year made him only marginally less hated than Qaddafi and his family, has been a mystery ever since the regime finally fell. There were reports of him being in Bani Walid, in Algeria, in Egypt and even in Germany: his wife is German.
There are also persistent reports that Khamis Qaddafi is or until a couple of days ago was in Bani Walid. One report today has Ibrahim in hospital in Misrata “confirming” that the dictator’s youngest son was in Bani Walid. Anther rumour is that he was lifted out of the town by helicopter some days ago.
Like Faqhi, Khamis was supposed to have been killed last year. However, lack of evidence has fuelled the rumour mill that he was still alive. What has been reported today, however, is that various military equipment belonging to Qaddafi supporters was seized in Bani Walid this morning including large numbers of weapons, a T92 tank and an air defence system belonging to Qaddafi’s 32nd Brigade, better known as the Khamis Brigade.
Many families have been leaving the town over the past 24 hours. According to soldiers manning the checkpoint on the road to Sirte, as many as 150 families left last night. This morning they reported just four or five.
Among those today was a small boy whom the soldiers say would not stop crying. People tried to comfort him to no avail. Eventually he did stop and was then asked why he had been crying. “They shot my father in front of me”, was his reply according to one of the soliders. The story, if true, would seem to back up reports that Bani Walid forces have been trying to prevent ordinary civilians from leaving in the hope of using them as hostages and human shields.[/quote]
So this is why Bani Walid remains loyal to Gaddafi.
Anyone who watched the war last year will have seen Moussa Ibrahim. He was always on TV telling us how the rebel terrorist scum were about to be defeated.
For those not up to speed, Bani Walid even today is still held by forces loyal to the old Gaddafi regime, but pro-government forces have recently launched an assault on the town.
I'm sure some of the captures will turn out to be untrue rumours, but Ibrahim at least seems to be true.
I like how now they're called pro-government fighters. When one year ago the pro-government fighters were the baddies. I guess the tables have finally turned. Imagine going from a protestor to a rebel to a freedom fighter to a government troop. Llikewise, imagine going from the upper ranks of a dictatorship to a rebel. I cant think off any better example of a power 180. They''ve had a wild year.
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