Gaddafi signals defiance in TV appearance

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Gaddafi signals defiance in TV appearance

By Tarek Amara and Christian Lowe | Reuters – 19 minutes ago

TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi appeared on state television

on Tuesday signaling his defiance in the face of a mounting revolt against his

41-year rule.

" I am in Tripoli and not in Venezuela, " he said, under a large umbrella, leaning

out of the front seat of a van. Reports on Monday said Gaddafi had fled to

Venezuela, ruled by his friend and fellow revolutionary President Hugo Chavez.

Libyan forces loyal to Gaddafi have fought an increasingly bloody battle to keep

the veteran leader in power with residents reporting gunfire in parts of the

capital Tripoli and one political activist saying warplanes had bombed the city.

Security forces had killed dozens of protesters across the country, human rights

groups and witnesses said, prompting widespread condemnation from world leaders.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said it was " time to stop this unacceptable

bloodshed " in Libya.

State TV showed government supporters rallying and Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam

Gaddafi said warplanes had hit only ammunition dumps. He did not say why jets

had carried out the air strikes, but on Sunday he accused protesters of raiding

ammunition depots in the eastern city of Benghazi.

No independent verification of the reports was available and communications with

Libya from outside were difficult.

Cracks were beginning to appear within the ranks of Gaddafi's supporters.

A group of army officers issued a statement urging fellow soldiers to " join the

people " and help remove Gaddafi, Al Arabiya television said.

The justice minister resigned in protest at the " excessive use of violence "

against protesters and diplomats at Libya's mission to the United Nations called

on the Libyan army to help overthrow " the tyrant Muammar Gaddafi. "

Two Libyan fighter jets landed in Malta, their pilots defecting after they said

they had been ordered to bomb protesters, Maltese government officials said.

The demonstrations spread to Tripoli, on the Mediterranean Sea, after several

cities in the east, including Benghazi, appeared to fall to the opposition,

according to residents.

Human Rights Watch said at least 233 people had been killed in five days of

violence, but opposition groups put the figure much higher.

Gaddafi has been one of the most recognizable figures on the world stage in

recent history, reviled by the West for many years as a supporter of militants

and revolutionary movements. At the same time Gaddafi cut a showman-like figure

with his flowing robes, lofty pronouncements and bevy of glamorous female

bodyguards attending him in his tent.

(Reporting by Tarek Amara and Christian Lowe; additional reporting by Love

and Daren ; Writing by Jon Hemming: Editing by Angus MacSwan)