DUSHANBE, August 24, 2011, Asia-Plus — Colonel Muammar Gaddafi vowed on Wednesday to fight on to death or victory after rebels forced him to abandon his Tripoli stronghold in what appeared to be a decisive blow against the Libyan leader”s 42-year rule, Reuters reports.
According to the BBC, pro-Gaddafi al-Urubah TV said the colonel – whose whereabouts remain unknown – made an audio speech, saying the retreat from the Bab al-Aziziya compound was a “tactical move”. The compound was one of the final areas under Colonel Gaddafi”s control in Tripoli. Speaking on a local Tripoli radio station early on Wednesday, Colonel Gaddafi pledged “martyrdom or victory” in the fight against NATO and the Libyan rebels, al-Urubah said. Colonel Gaddafi also said that his compound was destroyed by 64 NATO air strikes.
Al-Urubah also broadcast what it said was a live telephone interview with government spokesman Musa Ibrahim, the BBC reported. He said Libya would be turned into a “burning volcano and a fire under the feet of the invaders”. The spokesman also said that 6,000 volunteers had arrived to Libya to fight for Colonel Gaddafi. The claim has not been independently verified.
TV footage also showed fighters breaking the head off a statue of the Libyan leader and kicking it along the ground after capturing Bab al-Aziziya on Tuesday. They also seized items from Colonel Gaddafi”s home.
However, there are still pockets of resistance in the capital, including the Abu Salim and al-Hadba districts, and near the Hotel Rixos, where many foreign journalists are staying.
It is not known if Col Gaddafi and his family were in Bab al-Aziziya on Tuesday, but the complex is reported to be connected by underground tunnels to various key locations across the city.
The Gaddafi family is also believed to have access to numerous safe houses in Tripoli and beyond.
Members of the National Transitional Council (NTC), which has so far been based in the eastern city of Benghazi, said they planned to fly to Tripoli on Wednesday to start work on forming a new government.
Rebel representatives also prepared for high-level talks in Qatar on Wednesday with envoys of the US, UK, France, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates to discuss how to move ahead in the post-Gaddafi Libya.
In the meantime, Reuters reports China”s Foreign Minister told the U.N. chief that the United Nations should lead post-war efforts in Libya. He added that Beijing was willing to help rebuild the north African country. In a phone call with U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi suggested Beijing wants bodies such as the U.N., rather than Western governments alone, to coordinate international involvement in post-war Libya.
“The United Nations should play a leading role in post-war arrangements for Libya, and China encourages the United Nations to strengthen coordination and cooperation with the African Union and Arab League,” Yang said, according to the ministry website late on Tuesday.
On Tuesday, China urged Libya to protect Chinese investments and said their oil trade benefited both countries, after a Libyan rebel warned that Chinese oil companies could lose out after the ousting of Gaddafi because Beijing did not offer enough support to the rebels. China is the world”s second-biggest oil consumer, and last year it obtained 3 percent of its imported crude from Libya.
