Libya: Gaddafi’s sons split over surrender – live updates

• Saif al-Islam Gaddafi defiantly vows to fight on • Saadi Gaddafi offers to surrender • Russia gives recognition to NTC at start of Paris talks • Hama attorney general defects over Syrian crackdown 9.16am: While rebels observe a temporary truce around Sirte, the town continues to bear the brunt of Nato’s continuing bombardment of positions held by Gaddafi loyalists. Thirteen targets were hit in the town on Wednesday, according to Nato’s latest update. I make that 147 targets hit in the town in the last week alone. Bani Walid, the town south-east of Tripoli near to where Gaddafi was last sighted, was also hit in the latest raids. Here are the details [pdf] : Key Hits 31 August In the vicinity of Sirte: 1 Command and Control Node, 5 Surface to Air Missile Transloaders, 1 Armed Vehicle, 1 Tank, 4 Surface to Air Missile Launchers, 1 Multiple Rocket Launcher. In the vicinity of Bani Walid: 1 Ammo Storage Facility, 1 Command and Control Node. In the vicinity of Hun: 1 Radar, 1 Military Support Vehicle. 9.07am: Algeria’s foreign minister Mourad Medelci claimed Muammar Gaddafi has not followed members of his family to Algeria , according to CNN. Earlier this week an Algerian newspaper claimed that Gaddafi would be handed over to the international criminal court if he appeared in the country . His wife Safia, daughter Aisha and two sons Hannibal and Muhammed were given sanctuary in Algeria on Monday. 8.58am: In message to Al-Rai TV Saif Gaddafi alsio claimed 20,000 soldiers are ready to defend Sirte , the birthplace of his father, according to the Daily Telegraph. The town has been given until Saturday to surrender. The BBC’s Ian Pannell, who has been tweeting on the road to Sirte, claims residents of the town have offered to surrender but were turned back. Families from #Sirte waving white flag turned back on the road to #Misrata by rebels under orders. Wont b allowed thru ’til Sat. 8.21am: Welcome to Middle East Live. Are splits emerging in the Gaddafi clan? One of Muammar Gaddafi’s sons Saadi has offered to surrender while another, Saif al-Islam, has vowed to fight to the death. Here’s a run down of the main developments. Libya • Gaddafi’s son and former heir apparent, Saif al-Islam, said loyalists would never surrender to the rebels. Claiming to be speaking from the suburbs of Tripoli, he said he and his father were fine. He told Syria’ al-Rai televison: “We are going to die in our land. No one is going to surrender. We must wage a campaign of attrition day and night until these lands are cleansed from these gangs and traitors. We assure people that we are standing fast and the commander is in good condition.” • His brother Saadi, a former footballer, gave a very different interview on al-Arabiya television saying he was ready to negotiate with rebels. “If surrendering myself will end the bloodshed, I am ready to do so, but I do not represent only myself, and in order to reach a peaceful resolution to the crisis we should sit down with each other and negotiate. The most important thing is to stop the bloodshed.” • As world leaders gather for a Friends of Libya conference in Paris, Russia, an ally of the Gaddafi regime, has announced that it has officially recognised the National Transitional Council as Libya’s legitimate authority. David Cameron and the French president Nicolas Sarkozy will co-host the Paris talks which are expected to set out plans for lifting international sanctions against Libya’s ports and companies. • Cameron has been operating a secret unit in Whitehall charged with undertaking covert economic operations to choke the Gaddafi regime of oil supplies. The “Libyan oil cell” was run by the international development minister Alan Duncan and helped to strengthen sanctions against the oil-rich country, blocking supplies of crude oil to the dictator’s side while allowing petrol and diesel to flow to the rebels. The unit was involved in linking the rebels to a Swiss oil firm, Vitol, which has been credited with keeping the revolutionary engine running through the war. Duncan was previously a consultant with the firm. • Troops loyal to Gaddafi are holding children as human shields on the frontline as they prepare to make a desperate stand in the deposed leader’s hometown, rebel fighters have claimed. “They put the families between our guys and theirs so we can’t fire,” said Mohammed Abobaker. • Muammar Gaddafi was last sighted near Bani Walid a town south east of Tripoli and close to his son Khamis was reported to have been killed . Martin Chulov has been speaking to bodyguards who saw him and witnessed the death of Khamis. Abdul Salam Tahrar, a 17-year-old from Sabha, said: “I was assigned to be [Khamis's] main guard that day. I was in the truck behind him on the [heavy weapon] when his car was hit. He was burned.” He also saw Gaddafi senior leave the area last Friday. He was there for around 15 minutes. He was wearing civilian clothes and a headscarf, but his face was open and very clear. His wife and daughter were with him and so was Saadi. They left in a convoy of around 25 cars and he was in a Toyota pick-up. They all left together and they went south. Syria Hama’s attorney general, Adnan Bakkour, has defected to the opposition in protest at the killing and torture of anti-government activists in the city, according to video statement. Syrian state media claimed Bakkour had been kidnapped by protesters and forced to make the statement . It accused the international TV stations of being “partners in the crime” by broadcasting the video. Al-Jazeera has this translated version of Bakkour’s video statement . Libya Muammar Gaddafi Nato US foreign policy Middle East Arab and Middle East unrest Syria Bashar Al-Assad Bahrain Matthew Weaver guardian.co.uk

Posted by on September 1, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.