Libya: Mutassim Gaddafi reported arrested – live updates

• Mutassim reported arrested as Sirte on the brink of falling • NTC Benghazi officials cannot confirm Mutassim’s capture • Israel apologies over the killing of Egyptian police officers 9.26am: Nato hit two military vehicles in Sirte on Wednesday, in its first successful strikes against the city since Friday. Here’s its latest update: Key Hits 12 October [pdf]: In vicinity of Sirte: 2 military vehicles In vicinity of Bani Walid: 1 military vehicle 9.16am: Video footage has emerged purporting to show wounded civilians and Gaddafi fighters packed into Sirte’s Ibn Sina hospital. Warning the footage also shows images of the corpses of Gaddafi fighters in a morgue. Many of those injured appeared to emaciated. 8.57am: Reports of Mutassim’s arrest are being treated with care by reporters on Twitter. Sky’s Alex Rossi: Muttasim Gaddafi story i’ll believe it when we see the pics – the NTC have stated b4 they’ve captured Moussa Ibrahim and Saif Gaddafi #Sirte Al-Jazeera’s Evan Hill: I wonder how much damage was done from last night’s celebratory fire over the potential non-capture of Mutassim Gaddafi . Al-Jazeera’s James Bays: #LIBYA still no official confirmation of story of Mutassim Gaddafi capture. Senior NTC figure: “for now, I class this as a rumour only.” But later journalist Karl Stagno-Navarra tweeted: # NTC expected to show Mutassim #Gaddafi on TV later today after capture in #Sirte – Reports 8.22am: Welcome to Middle East Live. Muammar Gaddafi’s son Mutassim is reported to have been arrested fleeing Sirte as the city appears to be on the brink of falling. But the report has not been confirmed by officials in Benghazi, and is being treated with caution for now after what turned out to be false reports about the arrest of two of Gaddafi’s other sons during the fall of Tripoli. Here’s a round up in more detail. Libya • The collapse of resistance in Muammar Gaddafi former stronghold of Sirte has been underlined by reports of the arrest of his son Mutassim. National Transitional Council officials said Mutassim, who had been commanding the city’s defences, had been captured in a car trying to flee with his family on Tuesday evening and taken to Benghazi for questioning. • NTC officials in Benghazi could not confirm reports of Mutassim’s arrest, the BBC points out. It reminds us of numerous previous false reports about the arrest of senior members of the regime,  including Saif al-Islam, and Gaddafi spokesman Moussa Ibrahim. Jalal el-Gallal, a spokesman for the National Transitional Council in the eastern city of Benghazi, told AP “so far as we are concerned there is no confirmation that Mutassim Gaddafi has been captured”. • Suspected Gaddafi loyalist are being tortured into making confessions, according to Amnesty. It urged Libya’s new new government to end the arbitrary detention and widespread abuse of prisoners.  At least two guards – in separate detention facilities – admitted that they beat detainees in order to extract “confessions” more quickly. Egypt • Egypt’s ruling generals have denied allegations that they deliberately attacked a peaceful protest on Sunday night, as evidence of military involvement in the death of 26 people continued to grow. “The armed forces would never, and has never, opened fire on the people,” said Mahmoud Hegazy, a member of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. Assistant defence minister Major General Adel Emara said: “Never did a man from the armed forces run over anyone,” said Emara during a rare public press conference put on by the junta. But the generals’ claims are directly contradicted by an increasing number of video clips, eyewitness testimonies and medical reports that suggest military personnel attacked protesters with guns and armoured personnel carriers, killing many – mainly Christian Coptic protesters – and wounding hundreds in the process. • Israel has formally apologised to Egypt for the killing of six Egyptian police officers during a shoot-out between Israeli forces and suspected Palestinian militants in Sinai in August. The apology issued by Israeli defence minister Ehud Barak followed a joint investigation into the incident with Egyptian authorities and signals rapprochement between the two countries after a protracted diplomatic crisis. Syria • A Syrian-born man has been arrested and charged in Virginia for allegedly spying on anti-Syrian protesters in the United States and passing that information on to Damascus. Mohamad Anas Haitham Soueid, 47, a naturalized US citizen, was accused of acting as an agent of the Syrian intelligence service and collecting video and audio recordings of protesters against Syria and its president Bashar al-Assad. Iran • Saudi Arabia has issued a menacing ­warning to Iran that it will have to pay a price for the alleged plot to hire a Mexican drug cartel to assassinate its ambassador in Washington. Prince Turki al-Faisal, Saudi Arabia’s former ambassador to Washington and former head of the Saudi intelligence service, told a London conference: “The burden of proof and the amount of evidence in the case is overwhelming and clearly shows official Iranian responsibility for this.This is unacceptable. Somebody in Iran will have to pay the price.” • The alleged plot doesn’t fit with what is known about Iran. Our diplomatic editor, Julian Borger, goes through eight unanswered questions about the plot. • “This plot if true, departs from all known Iranian policies and procedures,” says Gary Sick America’s top Iran watcher and former National Security Council adviser. His doubts are part of comprehensive round up of expert scepticism put together by Robert MacKey at the New York Times. Israel • Preparations are under way in Israel, the Gaza Strip and Egypt for the first stage of the prisoner swap deal involving the exchange of Gilad Shalit for hundreds of Palestinians. Legal restrictions mean it cannot be implemented before next Tuesday. Israeli law requires that two days be allowed to grant those who oppose any prisoner swap time to appeal against the decision. Given this week’s Sukkot holiday, Netanyahu is not expected to release the full list of prisoners set to be freed until Saturday evening. • What’s the wider significance of the deal? Why has it happened now? Who are the winners and losers? And what are the implications for the future of the Middle East? Our Middle East editor, Ian Black, has the answers. Libya Muammar Gaddafi Middle East Arab and Middle East unrest Syria Bashar Al-Assad Israel Egypt Saudi Arabia US foreign policy Nato Matthew Weaver guardian.co.uk

Posted by on October 13, 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.