A Free Saif al-Islam Shatters the Sense that Rebels Are Close to Victory

 

The shocking appearance of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi on Tripoli’s streets in the early hours of Tuesday morning shattered the sense that the rebels’ victory in Libya was in hand. Supposedly in rebel custody, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s son was instead seen talking to the press surrounded by supporters, raising concerns that the opposition might be struggling to knit together a cohesive government-in-waiting, as it battles to finally crush Gaddafi’s regime – as well as to hunt down the fugitive leader himself.

On Monday, the opposition leaders of the National Transitional Council, or NTC, had repeatedly hailed its fighters for having arrested Saif the night before, after they stormed into Tripoli, apparently meeting only light resistance from Gaddafi’s remaining forces. NTC officials even boasted that they were treating Saif well “in a safe location.”

But on Tuesday Saif hardly looked like a prisoner, or for that matter even a hunted man. Just as he has done on many nights during the six-month conflict, he drove his SUV up to the doorstep of Tripoli’s Rixos Hotel, a wooded resort where foreign journalists have been required to stay under tight government control. The 38-year-old Saif – a notorious night owl – hopped out, flashing V-for-victory signs, and offered to drive reporters around Gaddafi-held neighborhoods, saying “we’re going to hit the hottest spots in Tripoli.” “I’m here to refute all the rumors and reports,” he said, dressed in an army-green T-shirt and sporting a wartime beard. “You have seen how the Libyan people rose up yesterday,” he said, without saying whether or not he had been in rebel custody.

 

 

Read full story at http://news.yahoo.com/free-saif-al-islam-shatters-sense-rebels-close-111500650.html

 

 

 

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