Where is Gaddafi?

Islam Times: Gaddafi has not been seen in public since mid-June and his enemies predict that he may have left the Libyan capital, or even the country as a whole. As the opponents are progressing, Gaddafi’s long speeches addressed during certain rallies have been stopped, and only sporadic calls made by telephone from unknown hideouts are left.

Latest reports say that the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has left Tripoli, the Libyan capital, adopting the following roadmap:
• He went initially to the areas south of the capital and from there to the city of Bani Walid, and then to southern Libyan area, and specifically to Sabha.
• Gaddafi is currently present in the “Trojan Oasis”, located hundreds of kilometers from the city of Jafra, a Libyan remote desert area. The city of the Jafra is located 1500 kilometers from the Libyan capital Tripoli.
The reports added that the “Jafra Oasis” is a large green area; it is more than 800 square kilometers, and it is characterized by the presence of trees and waterways in addition to the bushes. In this regard, the leaks indicated the following points:
• The armed forces of the Libyan opposition would not be to carry out a military operation against the area of the “Trojan Oasis”, for several reasons, including: the long distance; for in order to reach the city of Jafra, one should first walk a distance of 1,500 kilometers across the desert.
• The tribes found in the area and the city of Jafra and the Trojan Oasis are characterized by their strong loyalty to the leader Muammar Gaddafi. Also, a large number of the people of those tribes are within al-Gaddafi Brigade, specifically Brigade 32 of Khamis al-Gaddafi.

Moreover, the reports added that the leadership of the Libyan armed opposition has sought to ask the leadership of NATO to engage in a joint ground operation against the city of Jafra and Trojan Oasis, but the NATO’s Command refused, under the pretext that engaging in such an operation will lead to igniting a major war in the desert areas and the NATO forces will not be able to engage in such a task. This comes in addition to the fact that the costs of this operation will be much more than expected, and it is not possible to shock Gaddafi in this area, because the local population support him. Furthermore, Gaddafi has the ability to withdraw and to enter into the areas of north-east of Niger, which support Gaddafi too. Based on this, the NATO’s Command asked the Libyan opposition to announce victory as soon as they complete controlling the city of Sirte and the city of Bani Walid.

It is noteworthy that the last time Gaddafi was seen publicly was on June 12 in a meeting with the Russian President of the International Chess Federation Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, who said that the leader Gaddafi had told him that he has no intention of leaving the country.
Gaddafi, 69 years old, came into view many times during the first six months of the uprising weirdly and characteristically, but only to gain support and to show defiance.
Hence, no matter where Gaddafi is hiding, he should definitely be considering his fate while recalling the other leaders who were overthrown.

© Islam Times