GADDIFI TOPPLED!!!!!TRIPOLI CELEBRATING!!!!!!!!

That's got to be a blow to the forces of the old regime, LL?



That massacre is like the sort of thing associated with the SS, and I doubt if it is the only one to occur.

I hope the guilty parties can be brought to justice.

There is a report somewhere that a huge number of people are missing! I will see if I can find it and post the details up. The rebels are finding graves all over the place; Arwa mentioned in one report that the ground she was looking at was crawling with maggots! I also saw something about people being entombed underground and possibly dying of lack of air and food. This is beginning to be reminiscent of the 'Disappeared' in South America a few years ago. I hope the Algerians do bow to the pressure that is about to descend on them and hand over the Gadaffis for justice to be administered, but I think they will try and resist. It is said that the reason the wife is in Algeria is to pave the way for Gadaffi to join her as soon as he can get out of wherever he is holed up - probably Sirte. So far Moussa Ibrahim, the spokesman who kept popping up to deny this and that, is also missing, while one assumes Saif el-Islam is with his father. LL.

I did hear one report about there being some 10,000+ people missing, LL - I pray to God that isn't true.
The atrocities that are being uncovered go way beyond any of the dreadful violence which happens in any war - they seem to be sick and sadistic, deliberately.

The world mustn't turn away from looking at what is being uncovered, however ghastly it is.

One nice story:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2031020/War-reporter-My-kids-wish-I-dinner-lady-says-Alex-Crawford.html

Sky's unflappable Ms Crawford is a mum of four...maybe four children is good training for the rather, uncoventional anti-Gaddafi forces?


One not very nice story

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2031223/Libya-50-000-prisoners-missing-amid-chilling-tales-atrocities.html

As many as 50,000 prisoners are currently unaccounted for.

Good morning:

Al Jazeera on the flight of the Gadaffi family to Algeria:

Gaddafi family members flee to Algeria
Toppled Libyan leader's wife, his daughter and two of his sons in Algiers, as NTC says it will seek their extradition.
Last Modified: 29 Aug 2011 21:38

Muammar Gaddafi's second wife, two of his sons and his daughter have entered Algeria, according to the Algerian foreign ministry.

"The wife of Muammar Gaddafi, Safia, his daughter Aisha, and sons Hannibal and Mohammed, accompanied by their children, entered Algeria at 08:45am local time [0745GMT] through the Algeria-Libyan border," the ministry said in a statement on Monday published by the APS news agency.

However, it gave no information on the toppled Libyan leader, whose whereabouts has remained a mystery since fighters opposed to his government seized control of Tripoli, the Libyan capital, last week.

Algeria said their arrival had been reported to the United Nations and to the head of Libya's Transitional National Council [NTC], now widely recognised internationally as the country's legitimate government.

The Libyan rebel leadership said on Monday that Algeria had given them "a pass" to enter a third country.

"Algeria said they gave a pass to go to a third country," Mahmud Shammam, a spokesman for the National Transitional Council (NTC), told the AFP news agency.

"We cannot confirm that but they said they welcome them [to Algeria] for humanitarian reasons."

Shammam said the rebel leadership did not understand how anyone could "save Gaddafi's family" and wanted them back in Libya.

"Saving Gaddafi's family is not an act we welcome and understand. We'd like those persons to come back," he told a news conference.

"We can assure our neighbours that we want better relations with them ... but we are determined to arrest and try the Gaddafi family and Gaddafi himself."

Shammam said the rebels guaranteed a "fair trial".

Act of aggression

Gaddafi's Sons: Where Are They?

Mohammad: He has entered Algeria. He was captured by Libyan fighters in Tripoli but managed to escape

Hannibal: He is now in Algeria

Saif al-Islam: Believed to have moved to the town of Bin Walid, south of Tripoli

Saif al-Arab: Killed by a NATO air strike in April

Khamis: There are rumours of his death but it has yet to be confirmed

Saadi: At large

Mutasim: At large.

Another NTC spokesman accused Algeria of an act of aggression and also said the council would seek the extradition of Gaddafi's family members.

Ahmed Bani, a military spokesman for the council, said he was unsurprised to hear Algeria had welcomed Gaddafi relatives.
Throughout the six-month Libyan uprising, rebels have accused Algeria of providing Gaddafi with mercenaries to curb the revolution.

Al Jazeera's Anita McNaught, reporting from Tripoli, said: "There have been rumours over the last few days that family members had gone and that Gaddafi himself may have gone.

"The Algerian government has always got on really well with the Gaddafi regime. Algeria is one of the few countries that has not yet recognised the NTC."

Earlier, the Egyptian news agency MENA, quoting unidentified rebel fighters, had reported that six armoured Mercedes cars, possibly carrying Gaddafi's sons or other top regime figures, had crossed the border at the southwestern Libyan town of Ghadamis into Algeria. Algeria's foreign ministry had denied that report.

Meanwhile, Khamis Gaddafi, another of Gaddafi's sons, whose military unit is accused of killing dozens of detainees in Tripoli, may be placed on the international war crimes court's most-wanted list, the prosecutor told the Reuters news agency on Monday.

The Hague-based International Criminal Court [ICC] has already approved warrants for the arrest of Gaddafi, his son Saif al-Islam, and Libyan intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi on charges of crimes against humanity.

Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the ICC prosecutor, said he may also apply for an arrest warrant for Khamis, after Human Rights Watch said members of the Khamis Brigade, a force commanded by him, appeared to have carried out summary executions of detainees whose bodies were found in a warehouse in Tripoli.

"We know Khamis should also be prosecuted because he was the commander of the brigade that was more active on some of the crimes," Moreno-Ocampo said.

Moreno-Ocampo said a UN Human Rights Council commission would conduct further investigations on the ground in Libya soon and that he would base his decisions on the results.

Latest on the TV is that the family is 'in transit' and been given a through route to another country, as yet unknown where. LL

Al Jazeera live blog:

8 min 37 sec ago

As Libyans in Tripoli celebrate the defeat of Muammar Gaddafi, a young activist group is putting up a memorial wall to display the names and faces of fellow Libyans who have died.

While no one knows how many people were killed in the months-long battle for a free Libya, it is believed to be thousands. These activists want them all to be remembered.

Al Jazeera's Anita McNaught reports from Tripoli.



Gaddafi loyalists ambushed at Libya checkpoint
29 Aug 2011

Muammar Gaddafi loyalists are ambushed while on a reconnaissance mission, by Libya freedom fighters at a checkpoint.

This Al Jazeera Exclusive footage gives an inside view of the struggle as the fighters push towards Sirte, the last stronghold of Gaddafi.

News is just coming through that the man accused of killing PC Fletcher has been found shot dead; it is thought to be some kind of inside job.

WPC Fletcher Murder: 'One Suspect Is Dead'
Sky News – 1 hour 49 minutes ago

The National Transitional Council in Libya has said a man suspected of being behind the killing of WPC Yvonne Fletcher has died.

An official said the body of Abdulqadir al Baghdadi was found last week in an eastern suburb of Tripoli.

It is reported he is one of three men wanted over the murder.

On Saturday, The Daily Telegraph named Abdulmagid Salah Ameri as the main suspect in the case. It claimed to have seen a 140-page secret document on the killing.
A review of evidence in the case was carried out at the request of the Metropolitan Police by a senior Canadian prosecutor.

It contained evidence from a witness who claimed to have seen Almeri fire a machine gun from a window at the embassy during the protest in April 1984. He was working as a junior diplomat at the time.

WPC Fletcher was fatally shot outside the Libyan Embassy in London 27 years ago.
She was killed by a single bullet that hit her in the abdomen. There followed an 11-day armed siege which ended with 30 Libyan nationals being deported.

Her mother Queenie Fletcher has said Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's overthrow offered "the best chance yet" of justice for her daughter.

Meanwhile negotiations are under way with rebel leaders to allow British police investigating death of WPC Fletcher into Libya, Downing Street has said.

The Foreign Secretary William Hague told Sky News that discussions about whether a Libyan could be extradited if considered a suspect would continue.

"The NTC have always said to us, including when their chairman was here in London in May, that they would cooperate fully with the British authorities on these subjects and this is one of the priorities for us in future relations with Libya," he said.

"Diplomatically, we will help the Metropolitan Police to conduct investigations, including in Libya, when the security on the ground allows that. Libya does have a law that prevents it from extraditing its own citizens to other countries, but of course these are all issues we will have to resolve depending on how the police investigation goes on."

A very early Good Morning!

Al Jazerra:

Gaddafi's son 'ready to surrender'
A senior NTC official has said that Saadi Gaddafi, the deposed Libyan leader's third son, is willing to give himself up.
Last Modified: 30 Aug 2011 23:57

A senior National Transitional Council official in Libya has told Al Jazeera that Saadi Gaddafi, the third son of deposed leader Muammar Gaddafi, is willing to give himself up.

Abdelhakim Belhaj, the NTC's military leader in Tripoli, said on Wednesday that Saddi called him and asked if he can surrender.

In an exclusive interview, Belhaj said the revolutionaries know for sure where some of the regime leaders are, including unconfirmed reports on where Gaddafi is.

"Gaddafi is now fleeing - and we have a good idea where he is," Ali Tarhouni, a senior NTC minister said earlier, without elaborating. "We don't have any doubt that we will catch him."

There has been speculation that Gaddafi is seeking refuge in Sirte or one of the other remaining regime strongholds, among them the towns of Bani Walid or Sabha.

Al Jazeera's James Bays, reporting from Tripoli said: “We asked him [Belhaj] about the military situation, remaining members of the Gaddafi family, and he said that he believes one of Gaddafi's sons, Saadi, is preparing to surrender.

"According to Belhaj, Saddi doesn't want to leave Libya, he wants to talk to the national council and negotiate his surrender. He thinks he knows the whereabouts of Saddi Gaddafi from the phone call. Also says he believes some senior figures of the government are now ready to surrender, such as the former prime minister.

"Belhaj made a point of saying that any of those who do surrender will be treated properly, and court cases will be held to international norms. Belhaj thought that Muammar Gaddafi is less likely to surrender, but would be treated fairly if he did. He would be held in custody with proper human rights.”

Earlier on Monday, some members of Gaddafi's family had fled the country and gone to Algeria.

Authorities there confirmed on Tuesday that Gaddafi's second wife Safia, his daughter Aisha, and his sons Muhammad and Hannibal were in Algeria and had been granted permission to enter based on "humanitarian grounds".

According to AFP news agency, Aisha gave birth to a girl while in Algeria.

Mahmoud Shammam, information minister in Libya's rebel government, told the Associated Press news agency that he considered Algeria's harbouring of Hannibal an act of aggression.

"I cannot confirm it, but I can comment that, especially for Hannibal, if he fled to Algiers and the Algerian authorities allowed him to do that, we'll consider this as an aggressive act against the Libyan people's wish," he said.

Meanwhile, Khamis Gaddafi, another of Gaddafi's sons, whose military unit is accused of killing dozens of detainees in Tripoli, may be placed on the international war crimes court's most-wanted list, the prosecutor told the Reuters news agency on Monday.

The Hague-based International Criminal Court [ICC] has already approved warrants for the arrest of Gaddafi, his son Saif al-Islam, and Libyan intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi on charges of crimes against humanity.

Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the ICC prosecutor, said he may also apply for an arrest warrant for Khamis, after Human Rights Watch said members of the Khamis Brigade, a force commanded by him, appeared to have carried out summary executions of detainees whose bodies were found in a warehouse in Tripoli.

"We know Khamis should also be prosecuted because he was the commander of the brigade that was more active on some of the crimes," Moreno-Ocampo said.

Moreno-Ocampo said a UN Human Rights Council commission would conduct further investigations on the ground in Libya soon and that he would base his decisions on the results.

Al Jazeera:

30 Aug 2011
In one of the last outposts of resistance to Libya's revolution, Sirte, home town of Muammar Gaddafi, his loyalists have been given four days to surrender.

Speaking about the ultimatum at a press conference on Tuesday, Mustafa Abdul Jalil, the head of Libya's National Transitional Council said,

"By Saturday, if there are no peaceful indications for implementing this, we will decide this matter militarily.

"We do not wish to do so but we cannot wait longer".

In other parts of Libya on Tuesday, life seemed to be returning to some calm, with its residents streaming out on the streets to do their shopping for the Eid festival that starts in Libya on Wednesday.

Al Jazeera's Scott Heidler reports from Benghazi.

Al Jazeera:

Report: Gaddafi foreign minister arrested
Abdelati Obeidi reportedly arrested on Tuesday from his farm near Tripoli.
Last Modified: 31 Aug 2011 19:38

Toppled Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's foreign minister, Abdelati Obeidi, has been arrested, Reuters news agency has reported.

He was said to have been arrested from his farm in Janzour, a suburb west of Tripoli, on Tuesday.

Libyan fighers opposed to Gaddafi shouted "Allahu Akbar" or "God is greatest" as they arrested him, the report said.

Abdallah al-Hijazi, a close associate of Gaddafi, was also arrested in Tripoli, National Transitional Council sources told Reuters.

Gaddafi's entourage has been hit by numerous high-profile defections, arrests and killings since the uprising that has ended his 42-year rule of the country.

The NTC said on Monday it believed its fighters had killed Gaddafi's son Khamis and his intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi in clashes. Gaddafi's wife and three of his children fled to Algeria on Monday, Algeria's government said.

.................................................................

2 hours 32 min ago - Libya
The US has played a key role in the battle to end Muammar Gaddafi's rule over Libya.

But Al Jazeera has uncovered evidence that influential Americans have been trying to help Gaddafi cling to power.

The officials involved are a member of the Congress and a former ambassador.

The documents were found in the offices of Libyan intelligence building, which was abandoned as Libyan fighters took over Tripoli.

Al Jazeera’s Jamal El Shayyal filed this exclusive report.

Sky News via Feb 17 Info:

The Last Sighting Of Muammar Gaddafi?
Posted on August 31, 2011 by main


When Abdusalam Ataher-Ali was brought into the small office of the anti-Gaddafi military base in Tarhuna, he looked both terrified and confused. (Watch video interview here)

Even an affectionate hug and a ruffling of hair from the commander in charge of his care failed to ease his obvious fright.


In the coming weeks it is hoped Abdusalam will be returned to his family in Sabha

Two days after being captured by anti-Gaddafi troops, this 17-year-old former bodyguard of Khamis Gaddafi was being put forward for an interview with Sky News.

We were the first Westerners he had ever met.

For months he had been exposed to the regime’s propaganda about the “imperialist invasion” of Libya.

He was only just getting to grips with the reality that his captors and those he had been fighting against were in fact Libyans, not al Qaeda and Egyptians, as he had so regularly been told.

It is hardly surprising it took him a moment to accept that the four white men in body armour who wanted to speak to him were not soldiers or aggressors but journalists.

Sky’s chief correspondent Stuart Ramsay did his best to reassure him we were not there to do anything more than ask him some questions about Khamis.

Little did we know that his testimony would be one of the most significant accounts yet in the hunt for Khamis’ father, Muammar Gaddafi.

Abdusalam comes from the southern desert city of Sabha.

He described how he joined the Libyan army as a volunteer just over a month ago, when recruiters came to the city urging young men to join the fight to defend Libya against the “armed gangs and imperialist invaders”.

After joining he was taken up to Tripoli, where he became one of the coterie of bodyguards around Khamis – the commander of Libya’s most elite army section, the 32nd Brigade.

It is not the first report of the immediate protection teams of Col Gaddafi’s sons being made up of teenagers.

It has also been suggested that Mutassim Gaddafi, the head of Libya’s intelligence service, also surrounded himself with 16-year-old boys because they were seen as less likely to defect.

It was around 1.30pm last Friday that Abdusalam saw Colonel Gaddafi at the Khamis brigade base in the Saladin district of Tripoli.

At exactly that time our team were following a section of anti-Gaddafi technical vehicles as they engaged in a heavy firefight less than a kilometre from the base.

Although the incoming fire was intense, with rocket-propelled grenades and heavy machine gun rounds coming in from several directions, we had no idea how close we were to the man himself.

Inside the base, Abdusalam watched Colonel Gaddafi pull up in a Hyundai sedan car, normally used as a taxi.

Khamis welcomed his father and the pair had a meeting for around 15 minutes.

Although he was too far away to hear what was being said in the conversation, he claimed Colonel Gaddafi looked “as he always did”, not visibly anxious or dressed differently.

After that he claims Col Gaddafi got into one of a convoy of 25 vehicles, along with his daughter Aisha.

The fact she, her mother and two of her brothers are now known to be in Algeria, will raise serious questions about whether Col Gaddafi himself may have also crossed the border.

s he saw the convoy of vehicles carrying the colonel prepare to depart, Abdusalam asked his senior officer where they were going.

He was told they were going to Sabha.

Given that it was his hometown, and that he was becoming increasingly concerned by the rapidly depleting number of soldiers around him, he asked whether they too should be going along with the convoy?

The answer he got was no. They would be travelling in a separate convoy with Khamis, heading for Bani Walid.

As they prepared to leave, Abdusalam describes how Khamis switched vehicles from his normal Mercedes into an armoured Land Cruiser.

He knew this, because he was the last person to shut the door on his boss.

As they left, Abdusalam took up his position as outrider for Khamis.

He manned the Doushka cannon on the vehicle in front, shooting at anything that moved, clearing the way for the rest.

Around 60km southeast of the base, the convoy was struck by a Nato airstrike.

The remains of at least two trucks and five cars can still be seen on the main road just before the town of Tarhuna.

One of the vehicles destroyed by those airstrikes was the armoured Land Cruiser, which Abdusalam insists was carrying Khamis.

As local anti-Gaddafi troops attacked the remaining vehicles, Abdusalam was a captured.

When we asked whether there was any chance Khamis may have survived the attack, Abdusalam shook his head and said ‘no’, he was sure he was dead.

There was no hiding the look in his eye as he said this. There were no games going on. This was his honest assessment.

Those in command of the anti-Gaddafi base in Tarhuna insist that Abdusalam is not a prisoner.

He is being well looked after, and does not look either malnourished or injured.

They say he is 17, just a child who had volunteered to fight to defend his country. That he was lied to and misled is not his fault.

In the coming weeks they hope that Abdusalam will be able to be returned to his family in Sabha and put the past behind him.

After the inteview, the commander came over to the sofa on which Abdusalam was sitting.

He gave him another reassuring hug, another ruffle of his hair. And this time, there was just the slightest hint of a smile from Abdusalam.

For this boy at least, the horror of war is over.

Link to the video of the boy mentioned above: http://news.sky.com/home/world-news/article/16060032

Oh dear - that won't go down too well back home....

bb1 wrote:Oh dear - that won't go down too well back home....

The piece about the Americans? No, there may be repercussions. Also, Saif al-Islam has been broadcasting that Tripoli is not in the hands of the rebels, there are 20,000 fighting men in Sirte - oh, it sounds like a madman rambling - as soon as I get a report I will post it up. Another son, Saadi is still trying to negotiate a surrender .... LL

Yes, the Americans..now, I can just about see an Ambassador giving the appearance of facing both ways, but a congressman?
I would think that is his political career over.
And I am still not convinced Khamis died in that air strike.

Telegraph:

Libya live: 20,000 armed youths 'heading to Tripoli', claims heir
Live coverage of Libya as Gaddafi's heir Saif al-Islam gives final war cry saying "victory is close".

21.13 Saif al-Islam is claiming to be hiding in a suburb outside Tripoli and says his father Col Gaddafi is well. He has again urged Libyans to wage war of attrition against rebel "rats". Interestingly, he says nobody loyal to the regime would surrender to the rebels. Given that his brother Saadi is reportedly offering to surrender "to end the bloodshed", this could indicate a rift in the Gaddafi family.

20.45 A lot of commentators are saying that Saif al-Islam's "last-ditch" propaganda message is completely delusional.

20.34 UPDATED Saif al-Islam has apparently been talking to a Syrian TV station. Despite his brother's offer of surrender only a few hours before, Saif al-Islam reportedly says the fight is still alive and "victory is close". He also says "resistance is continuing", "we are coming soon to liberate Green Square" with 20,000 armed youths who will "fight to the death".

Al Jazeera:

Gaddafi sons differ over Libya conflict
Saif al-Islam vows to fight on in new message while brother Saadi says he is seeking negotiations to end conflict.
Last Modified: 31 Aug 2011 20:06

Toppled Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam has vowed to continue resistance, while his brother Saadi Gaddafi has offered to surrender, Reuters news agency reported.

"We would like to tell our people that we are well and good. The leader [Muammar Gaddafi] is fine. We have more than 20,000 armed youths and we are ready to fight. I tell our men to strike back against the rats," Saif is quoted as saying on pro-Gaddafi TV.

However, Saadi said in a TV interview that he had his father's authorisation to talk to National Transitional Council [NTC] to stop the bloodshed in Libya.

"We acknowledge that they (the NTC) represent a legal party, but we are also the government and a legal negotiating party," he said.

The statements came as NATO confirmed that it had bombed remaining outposts of Gaddafi's supporters in Libya, targeting their tanks and armoured vehicles as well as military facilities.

The Western military alliance said on Wednesday its planes had bombed Gaddafi forces near Sirte a day earlier. They also hit targets in the area of Bani Walid, a desert town and a Gaddafi stronghold 150km southeast of the capital, Tripoli.

Gaddafi loyalists are now believed to be limited to three main areas in the country: Bani Walid, Sirte and Sabha.

Sirte to the east of Tripoli is the birthplace of Gaddafi and fighters opposed to him are concentrating their efforts to seize the town.

Mustafa Abdel Jalil, chairman of the NTC, said on Tuesday that forces loyal to Gaddafi have until Saturday to surrender or face a military assault.

Tripoli blast

In another development on Wednesday, at least four Libyan fighters were killed in Tripoli in a blast that went off as residents, already rejoicing at the fall of Gaddafi's regime, celebrated Eid-al-Fitr.

Some residents said it was a car bomb and the blast was carried out by Gaddafi loyalists.

Al Jazeera's Sue Turton, reporting from Tripoli, said, "A group of rebels have denied it was a car bomb; they say actually a car full of fuel was hit by celebratory gun fire, that’s what killed the four Libyan fighters."

Another group said that children had picked up grenades left on the road after the recent fighting, and that they were killed in the grenade explosions," she said.

The blast, however, failed to dampen Eid celebrations, as residents knelt in prayer in Martyrs' Square in thousands.

At dawn on Wednesday, families began to pour into the square, which had been dubbed "Green Square" by Gaddafi, as women ululated in triumph and spontaneous cries of joy erupted.

"This is the best holiday of my life," said Adel Masmoudi, who at 41 was born the year Gaddafi seized power.

An imam leading the dawn prayer urged all Libyans to stand united and hailed the ousting of "the tyrant Gaddafi", prompting jeers from the crowd at the mention of the former leader's name.

Rebel forces had set up a security belt around the square, as armed guards patrolled the area and snipers took position on rooftops overlooking the gathering which ended peacefully later in the morning.

The Eid celebrations had began late on Tuesday with bursts of red tracer rounds fired into the sky as a substitute for fireworks.

"This is the first time we have felt relaxed in 42 years," Amari Abdulla, 24, told the AFP news agency.

"We will celebrate as in the past but this time it is simply better. It is a new Libya."

bb1 wrote:Yes, the Americans..now, I can just about see an Ambassador giving the appearance of facing both ways, but a congressman?
I would think that is his political career over.
And I am still not convinced Khamis died in that air strike.

Re Khamis, have a read of the Sky News interview with the 17 year old youth - I don't think he is lying, he seems genuine in the interview - link at bottom of post. LL

I'm sure he is, LL, I was just thinking if Khamis could have somehow survived that airstrike...
Not likely if he was in the vehicle, so- where did the body go?

bb1 wrote:I'm sure he is, LL, I was just thinking if Khamis could have somehow survived that airstrike...
Not likely if he was in the vehicle, so- where did the body go?

Removed by Gadaffi's people so no-one would be able to parade the dead body in the streets of Tripoli? Who knows? LL

From the state of the vehicle, LL, I really don't think there would have been much to parade....DNA from the remains?

As you say, who knows?

bb1 wrote:From the state of the vehicle, LL, I really don't think there would have been much to parade....DNA from the remains?

As you say, who knows?

Yep! Oh, Algeria state Gadaffi is NOT in that country. LL

Al Jazeera:

Gaddafi men given extra week to surrender

NTC extends its earlier deadline to give loyalists in Sirte more time to lay down their weapons.
Last Modified: 01 Sep 2011 15:49

The NTC's latest offer comes amid massing of troops around the remaining Gaddafi stronghold of Sirte.

Libya's ruling National Transitional Council has given one extra week to Muammar Gaddafi loyalists to lay down weapons.

The council, known by its acronym NTC, has extended the deadline for surrender of Gaddafi's last bastion Sirte by one week, Mohammad Zawawi, an NTC spokesman, said on Thursday.

"We are not in a rush to get in to Sirte. It has no economic importance and we are not going to lose casualties for it. We can cut supplies and wait, even more than a week," he said.

The talks come alongside a blockade of supplies to the town, an NTC official said.

Al Jazeera's Hoda Abdul Hamid, reporting from Nawfalia east of Sirte, said, "This is the consequence of ongoing talks between NTC leaders and tribal leaders in Sirte and another nearby town Harawa."

"The idea is to give time to negotiations which is going on between the tribes in Sirte," she said.

Our correspondent said, some tribal leaders based in Nawfalia and Ben Jawad area have been given the role of negotiating on behalf of the NTC.

"NTC is trying to get some sort of tribal allegiance as it will play very important role in the final outcome in Sirte."

NTC officials have said they are attempting to convince Gaddafi loyalists in Sirte that the old regime is finished, and that they will be treated fairly if they surrender.

It has warned of an all-out military assault if Gaddafi loyalists do not yield the town, one of the last holdouts after fighters streamed into the capital, Tripoli, last week and ended Gaddafi's 42-year rule.

The rebels said on Tuesday they were ready for the final battle of their more than six-month uprising after their leaders gave Gaddafi's loyalists a Saturday deadline to surrender.

Mustafa Abdel Jalil, the head of the ruling NTC, had said the respite was offered to mark the three-day Eid al-Fitr feast which follows the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

"From Saturday, if no peaceful solution is in sight on the ground, we will resort to military force," Jalil said.

Division within Gaddafi family

The development comes a day after Gaddafi's son Saadi said he had been in contact with the NTC to help negotiate an end to "bloodshed" and that he had his father's blessing to do so.

But in a sign of division within Gaddafi's family, his other son Saif al-Islam vowed to continue resistance.

"We would like to tell our people that we are well and good. The leader [Muammar Gaddafi] is fine. We have more than 20,000 armed youths and we are ready to fight. I tell our men to strike back against the rats," Saif has been quoted as saying on the pro-Gaddafi al-Rai television station.

Libyan fighters said security would be guaranteed for Saadi if he surrendered, AFP news agency reported.

The statements from the Gaddafi sons came as NATO confirmed that it had bombed remaining outposts of Gaddafi's supporters in Libya, targeting their tanks and armoured vehicles as well as military facilities.

The Western military alliance said on Wednesday its jets had bombed Gaddafi forces near Sirte a day earlier.

They also hit targets in the area of Bani Walid, a desert town and a Gaddafi stronghold 150km southeast of the capital, Tripoli.

Gaddafi loyalists are now believed to be limited to three main areas in the country: Bani Walid, Sirte and Sabha.

Sirte, to the east of Tripoli, is the birthplace of Gaddafi and fighters opposed to him are concentrating their efforts to seize the town.

Al Jazerra:

Gaddafi foreign minister speaks to Al Jazeera

Published 01 September 2011 11:17

Al Jazeera has obtained an exclusive interview with Abdelati Obeidi, Muammar Gaddafi's foreign minister, who is being detained in the capital, Tripoli. He was said to have been taken into custody at his farm in Janzour, a suburb west of Tripoli, on Tuesday. Speaking under armed guard from a safehouse in the Libyan capital, Obeidi said he had given himself up to the National Transitional Council for his own safety. Obeidi, who said he was being treated well, called on Gaddafi's forces to put an end to the bloodshed. Al Jazeera's James Bays reports from Tripoli.

Thanks, LL. How very civilised, giving them another week to come to their senses......