Libya: closing in on Gaddafi’s Bani Walid stronghold – live updates

• Rebel commander demands UK apology over rendition • Talks fail on the surrender of besieged Gaddafi town • Red Cross chief visits Syria amid continuing crackdown 9.21am: Libya’s new civilian leaders are concerned that military commanders like Abdul Hakim Belhaj, a former leader of a dissident Islamist group who is planning to sue the British government over his rendition, are getting too big for their boots. The Washington Post reports that moves to rein in his influence by bringing the military commanders under one committee headed by the deputy prime minister Ali Tarhouni. Mohammed Benrasali, a senior official in the Libya Stabilization Committee and a member of the Misrata city council, said the move was largely designed to rein in Belhadj, whose past as a fighter in Afghanistan was seen as something of a public relations problem for a government seeking substantial Western backing. “Mr. Belhaj is getting too big for his shoes,” Benrasali said. “We needed someone to rein him in.” 9.08am: Disputed allegations about Iran’s links with al-Qaida have resurfaced in Libyan documents discovered by the Daily Telegraph . Iran has repeatedly denied official involvement with al-Qaida . The Telegraph said the Libyan documents don’t challenge the Iranian government, but do suggest that al-Qaida operatives had more freedom of movement there than previously thought. 8.34am: Welcome to Middle East Live. There are two key things to watch today: the continuing fallout from the discovery of documents detailing UK and US collaboration with the Gaddafi regime in the rendition of terrorism suspects; and the rebel’s next move on the besieged town of Bani Walid after the apparent failure of peace talks with Gaddafi loyalists. Here are the main developments in more detail: Libya • Abdul Hakim Belhaj, commander of the anti-Gaddafi militia, is considering suing the British government after documents emerged appearing to show UK involvement in his rendition and subsequent torture. Speaking to the Guardian he said: “I wasn’t allowed a bath for three years and I didn’t see the sun for one year. They hung me from the wall and kept me in an isolation cell. I was regularly tortured … This will not stop the new Libya having orderly relations with the United States and Britain. But it did not need to happen.” • British intelligence agencies mounted their own “rendition” operation in collaboration with Gaddafi’s security services, the newly discovered Tripoli papers suggest. A secret CIA document found among the haul shows that the British and Libyans worked together to arrange for a terrorism suspect to be removed from Hong Kong to Tripoli – along with his wife and children – despite the risk that they would be tortured. The wording of the document suggests the CIA was not involved in the planning of the rendition operation. • David Cameron is expected to make a statement in the Commons about Libya at around 3.30pm. Andrew Sparrow will be reporting on the political fallout on the rendition allegations on our Politics live blog. • Rebels are poised for an assault on Bani Walid after the failure of talks aimed at securing the surrender of Gaddafi loyalists. Abusif Ghnyah, a rebel spokesman who comes from Bani Walid, said 120 people gathered in the town last week and agreed a negotiated surrender, only for the meeting to be disrupted by Gaddafi loyalists. • Rebel leaders in the nearby town of Tahouna said loyalist convoys had been seen leaving Bani Walid after residents raised rebels flags. Rebels were planning to send forays into town to test the mood of the people. •  China offered to sell the Gaddafi government large stockpiles of weapons and ammunition in apparent violation of United Nations sanctions. Documents obtained by Canada’s the Globe and Mail show that state-controlled Chinese arms manufacturers were prepared to sell weapons and ammunition worth at least $200-million to Gaddafi in late July. Syria • The head of the Red Cross, Jakob Kellenberger, is to to meet Bashar al-Assad as activists report another 14 deaths in the latest crackdown against anti government protests. The government said nine people were killed by “armed gangs”. • Government forces have  launched a massive manhunt for Adnan Muhammad al-Bakkour, the attorney general of Hama, who defected to the opposition last week, residents and activists told the LA Times. Bakkour appeared in videos last week in which he said he had resigned because of a massive government campaign of killing and torture in Hama. Libya Muammar Gaddafi Arab and Middle East unrest CIA rendition MI6 US foreign policy Middle East al-Qaida Syria Bashar Al-Assad Israel Bahrain Algeria Nato Iran Egypt Hosni Mubarak Matthew Weaver guardian.co.uk

Posted by on September 5, 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.