#libya Al-Aziziya compound totally falls, Gaddafi says withdrawal "tactical"

English.news.cn 2011-08-24 11:07:57

Libyan rebel fighters celebrate after their entering the Bab al-Aziziya compound in Tripoli August 23, 2011. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

TRIPOLI, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- Libyan rebels Tuesday captured Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's Bab al-Aziziya compound in the center of the capital Tripoli after heavy fighting, while the whereabouts of the embattled Libyan leader and his sons remain unknown.

However, the Libyan leader said through a local Tripoli radio station on Wednesday that his withdrawal from al-Aziziya compound was a "tactical move," and vowed resistance would continue.

GADDAFI: WITHDRAWAL "TACTICAL MOVE"

Gaddafi said Wednesday that his withdrawal from his Bab al-Aziziya headquarters was a "tactical move" after the compound was levelled by 64 NATO air strikes.

Speaking in an address on a local Tripoli radio station, which was reported by Al-Orouba TV, Gaddafi also vowed "death or victory" in his fight against NATO.

Gaddafi's spokesman Moussa Ibrahim on Wednesday also told the satellite channels Al-Orouba and al-Raiby by telephone that the Libyan leader was ready to resist rebels who have seized the Libyan capital Tripoli for "months, or even years," and vowed to turn Libya into "volcanoes, lava and fire."

Four hundred people were killed and 2,000 wounded in three days of fighting between rebels and government forces in Tripoli, Mustafa Abdel Jalil, chairman of the rebel-led National Transitional Council (NTC), told France-24 television on Wednesday.

He also said that some 600 pro-Gaddafi fighters had been captured, adding that the battle would not be over until Gaddafi himself was a prisoner.

Meanwhile, head of the Russian chess federation Kirsan Ilyumzhinov said the Libyan leader, along with his son Mohammed, told him via phone he was still in Tripoli and did not intend to leave the country.

Saif al-Islam, the well-known son of Gaddafi, who was said to be in the hands of the rebels, also appeared at the Rixos hotel before dozens of foreign journalists on Tuesday.

Libyan rebel fighters celebrate after they entered the Bab al Aziziya compound in Tripoli August 23, 2011. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

REBELS: HEADQUARTERS TO BE MOVED TO TRIPOLI

Tuesday's TV footage of al-Jazeera showed that rebels swarmed into the huge compound and looted sniper rifles and other weapons from an armory inside the once heavily-fortified stronghold of the Libyan strongman.

And jubilant rebel fighters were seen roaming in front of a building damaged in a U.S. bomb attack decades ago, a symbol of Gaddafi's defiance to the West.

Libyan rebel military spokesman Col. Ahmed Bani said Tuesday that the NTC was to move its headquarters from Benghazi to the capital Tripoli within two days, the pan-Arab al-Jazeera TV reported.

NTC members are also expected to hold a summit with representatives from the United States, France, Italy, Britain, Turkey and Qatar in the Qatari capital of Doha on Wednesday to discuss the reconstruction of war-torn Libya, Chairman of NTC's Executive Bureau Mahmoud Jibril said Tuesday.

A Libyan rebel fighter enter Bab al aziziya compound in Tripoli August 23, 2011. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

NATO: GADDAFI NOT "ULTIMATE TARGET"

NATO spokesman Colonel Roland Lavoie on Tuesday said the military alliance's mission would continue in Libya and the embattled Libyan leader Gaddafi was not the ultimate target.

"It is difficult to predict when the operations in Libya will end. No one can tell when the forces of the regime will retire but I can say that it has gradually been weakened during these past months," he told a press briefing at the Naples-based operational headquarters of Operation Unified Protector.

Commenting on the fate of Gaddafi, Lavoie said it had no importance because the solution to the conflict would be "political."

"Gaddafi is not anymore the central figure of this conflict considering he will not be part of the future Libya," he said.

With Libyan rebels now occupying most of Tripoli, Gaddafi's 41-year rule is approaching its end. As a new era is taking shape, there comes a hard task of rebuilding.

The U.S. State Department said on Tuesday that Washington is working to release 1 billion to 1.5 billion U.S. dollars of Libyan frozen assets to the country's opposition.

European Union (EU) foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton also said on Tuesday that EU will release previously frozen Libyan assets for the country's reconstruction, while rebel leaders are calling for help in preparing for elections.

VOICES, ACTIONS OF INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's office confirmed Tuesday the prime minister would meet Libyan rebel leader Mahmoud Jibril Thursday in Milan to discuss how to protect the interests of Italian companies in Libya

Brazil's Foreign Ministry also told Reuters on Tuesday that the country believes the contracts of Brazilian companies will be respected by a new government in Libya.

China vowed on Tuesday to make every effort to ensure safety of its nationals stranded in Libya and provide assistance for their evacuation.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said the Chinese embassy in Tripoli was in close contact with the stranded Chinese and offered assistance to their evacuation.

China has made it clear that it respects the choices of the Libyan people and is ready to cooperate with the international community to play a proactive role in the reconstruction of Libya in the future.

China also said the lawful assets left over in Libya by foreign countries, including foreign embassies and consulates and international organizations' offices in Tripoli or other cities, should be well protected while the new government should also deal with foreign countries' other assets appropriately as well, such as business contracts with the former government, suspended projects, and equipment left on work sites.

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