• Home
  • Mail
  • News
  • Finance
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
  • Search
  • Mobile
  • More
Yahoo
    • Skip to Navigation
    • Skip to Main Content
    • Skip to Related Content
    • Mail
    Advertisement

    Update: Qaddafi Is Defiant As 'Zero Hour' Begins in Libya

    Ujala Sehgal
    ,
    The Atlantic Wire•August 20, 2011
    Update: Qaddafi Is Defiant As 'Zero Hour' Begins in Libya

    Update: Qaddafi has spoken in a live audio address on Libya state TV, which claims it was not pre-recorded. From Al-Jazeera's live-blog:

    State TV has broadcast an audio message from Gaddafi. He called the opposition fighting him "traitors". "I can't understand how Libya is now in this state... you need to find the people behind this state... behind this tragedy... You need to love Libya... how can you allow those people to play with Libya? Instead of being happy we're sad...

    He said he expected the opposition to claim his message was pre-recorded: "They will say this message is recorded ... It's Sunday, the 21st of August. Time is 1:37 Libya time....

    Gaddafi congratulated his supporters for repelling an attack by rebel "rats" in the capital Tripoli, and accused French President Nicolas Sarkozy of trying to steal the country's oil. Gaddafi made the remarks in a live audio broadcast over state television early on Sunday, adding the rebels were "bent on the destruction of the Libyan people."

    Meanwhile, Libyan rebels said they launched an attack on Tripoli in coordination with NATO, and Associated Press reporters heard unusually heavy gunfire and explosions in the capital. A senior official with Libyan Rebel Council says "zero hour has started, the rebels in Tripoli have risen up."

    RELATED: Uganda Offers to Welcome Qaddafi in Asylum, Then Denies It

    Previously: Tension have been mounting in Libya today, with rebel forces encircling Tripoli, causing Qaddafi to lose his grip, according to the New York Times. "By Saturday afternoon, the rebels had driven Colonel Qaddafi’s forces out of the strategic oil refinery town of Zawiyah, 30 miles west of Tripoli. After a week of heavy fighting there, residents began to celebrate in the main square." Although, in Tripoli, still a Qaddafi stronghold, government officials "continued to insist that they would fight to the end," the Times wrote that "rumors swept Libya that [Qaddafi] was preparing to flee, if he had not already."

    RELATED: Five Best Friday Columns

    Now the rumors are turning into unconfirmed reports. NBC New Chief Foreign Correspondent Richard Engel tweeted: "BREAKING: Libyan TV reporting Qaddafi has fled with two sons."  He added: "odd no reports of seif having fled, only hanibam was moatasim," in reference to his sons. Other reports on Twitter are that Qaddafi left "aboard a private aircraft with two of his sons." One source also indicated that Al-Jazeera wrote that Qaddafi "reportedly" left for Italy, although there is no mention of this on its Libya liveblog yet (only that a top Qaddafi aide fled to Italy). Reports of Qaddafi's departure are still unconfirmed. More recently, Engel tweeted that "Rebels themselves don't know if reports of qaddafi's departure are true. 'we hope' they say..."

    RELATED: Five Best Thursday Columns

    News of the intensity in Libya continues to come in from all news sources. CNN reports that rebels have in fact entered Tripoli, with heavy clashes, intense gunfire, and explosions. (Although Government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim told state television: "All of Tripoli is safe and stable.") Reuters tweeted "Tripoli residents receive text messages urging them to 'go out into streets to eliminate agents with weapons," says resident."

    RELATED: New Reports of Qaddafi Forces Using Rape As a Weapon of War

    A top rebel commander in the west can NOT confirm Qaddafi has left, according to Engel.

    RELATED: Qaddafi Is Missing as Rebels Gain Control of Most of Tripoli

    We will continue to update with further information -- and confirmation of these Twitter reports -- as they come in.

    Our goal is to create a safe and engaging place for users to connect over interests and passions. In order to improve our community experience, we are temporarily suspending article commenting.

    What to Read Next

    • Cash shortage adds to weary Eastern Libyans' woes

      Reuters
    • Officials: Nigerian migrant burned alive in Libya's Tripoli

      Associated Press
    • In Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Erdogan eyes Turkey's "place in world order"

      Reuters
    • Trump claims he won't participate in virtual debate

      Yahoo News
    • What will happen to the economy without more stimulus?

      Yahoo News 360
    • Coronavirus live updates: Trump breaks quarantine; New England Journal of Medicine says Trump must go; New Yorkers protest shutdown orders

      USA TODAY
    • 4 takeaways from a weirdly normal vice presidential debate between Mike Pence and Kamala Harris

      Yahoo News
    • Jimmy Kimmel Thinks Donald Trump Jr. Just Said 'One Of Saddest Things I’ve Heard On Fox News'

      HuffPost
    • Trump says he won’t participate in virtual debate

      Yahoo News Video
    • Portland: officers targeted medics with teargas and projectiles, report finds

      The Guardian
    • PHOTOS: Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg — A look back

      Yahoo News Photo Staff
    • Cam Newton remains sidelined, urges COVID-19 safety: 'Wear your mask'

      Yahoo Sports
    • Trump vows not to participate in virtual debate with Biden

      Associated Press
    • Tana Mongeau Posted Full Underboob In Hot AF Tie-Dye Bikini

      Seventeen
    • Affidavit: Texas officer was offered handshake before fatal shooting

      Yahoo News Video
    • As he pushes a Supreme Court nominee, Lindsey Graham scrambles to save his own reelection

      LA Times
    • Ruby Tuesday, hit by COVID closures, files for bankruptcy

      Associated Press
    • Pete Buttigieg Drops Firebomb On Trump And Pence In Fox News Interview

      HuffPost
    • The One Body Part You Shouldn't Wash in the Shower, Doctors Say

      Best Life
    • Louisiana braces itself for Hurricane Delta

      Yahoo News Video
    • Biden unsure on virtual debate status

      Associated Press Videos
    • Louisiana tells meteorologist Jim Cantore to 'stay home' amid Hurricane Delta: 'I get it'

      Yahoo TV
    • Wisconsin is nation's new Covid-19 hot spot

      NBC News
    • Joe Biden trolls Mike Pence after a fly lands on the vice president’s head at VP debate

      Yahoo TV
    • Yahoo News Network
    • Help
    • Privacy (Updated)
    • Suggestions
    • About our Ads
    • Terms (Updated)
    • Sitemap