Gaddafi Vows “Martyrdom or Victory” in Fight against “Colonizers, Rats”

Local Editor

Following his “strategic” retreat from his Bab al-Azizia resident, defiant Muammar Gaddafi pledged death or victory in the battle with NATO and rebels. In audio remarks broadcast by the al-Rai television, Gaddafi called on all residents of Tripoli to "cleanse" the capital from the rebels. He even claimed to have traveled in the city and not feeling any danger. "All Libyans must be present in Tripoli – young people, tribesmen and even women have to sweep Tripoli and clean it from its traitors." According to Gaddafi, "I have been out a bit in Tripoli discreetly, without being seen by people, and ... I did not feel that Tripoli was in danger." Gaddafi also said he had abandoned his Tripoli compound in a "tactical withdrawal" after it had been wrecked by NATO warplanes."Bab al-Azizya was nothing but a heap of rubble after it was the target of 64 NATO missiles and we withdrew from it for tactical reasons," he said. REBELS STORM BAB AL-AZIZIA Gaddafi’s remarks came after rebels continued to consolidate their grip on the capital, by capturing Gaddafi's main compound in Bab al-Aziziya. The storming of Bab al-Aziziya appeared to herald the de facto end of Gaddafi's 42-year-old rule, but with his whereabouts still unknown and his powerful sons unaccounted for, the rebels cannot declare victory. Fighters broke the head off Gaddafi’s statue, kicking it along the ground as well as seizing items from his home. There were pro-rebel celebrations on the main squares in Tripoli and Benghazi but pockets of the capital appeared to be under government control and many have been reluctant to celebrate openly until Gaddafi and his sons would be captured. REGIME SPOKSEMAN: TRIPOLI STILL UNDER CONTROL For his part, regime spokesman Mussa Ibrahim also managed to get word out in a phone interview with the same station, promising "We will be back to take Tripoli back". Ibrahim also said the withdrawal from the compound had been a strategic move, prompted by NATO air strikes. "Bab al-Azaziya is nothing but slabs of concrete," he said. He claimed Gaddafi's forces still controlled 80 per cent of the capital, which he said was a "death trap" and "ticking time bomb" for the rebels. Ibrahim said 6,000 volunteers had arrived in Libya to fight for Col Gaddafi. Libya would be turned into a "burning volcano and a fire under the feet of the invaders", he said. NTC HEAD: FIGHT HASN’T END YET On the other hand, the head of National Transitional Council (NTC), Mustafa Abdel-Jalil, said it was too early to say the fight has ended. "It is too early to say that the battle of Tripoli is over. That won't happen until Gaddafi and his sons are captured", said Abdel-Jalil who was also a minister in Gaddafi's government until the February uprising against his rule. In Doha, NTC number two Mahmud Jibril said Libya's transition "begins immediately" and that Qatar would host a meeting on Wednesday to organise $2.4 billion in aid for the country. Jibril told a press conference, "we will build a new Libya, with all Libyans as brothers for a united, civil and democratic nation. The Arab League for its part invited the NTC to take up Libya's empty seat at a special ministerial meeting to be held Saturday in Cairo, Qatari Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassem al-Thani said. NATO CAMPAIGN TO CONTINUE Furthermore NATO has pledged to continue its military campaign over Libya despite growing optimism at reports that Muammar Gaddafi's regime was nearing an end. "Our military mission has not changed. It remains to protect the civilian population, enforce the no-fly zone and the arms embargo,''Colonel Roland Lavoie, a spokesman of the military alliance, said on Tuesday. "We will conduct strikes wherever necessary to protect the population of Libya,'' he told journalists in Brussels via video-link from NATO's headquarters in Naples, Italy.

Source: Agencies Israeli Jew to join rebel Libyan regime Welcome to Libya’s ‘democracy’ Libya War: It Ain't Over Till It's Over ’Libyan Regime Collapsing, Lebanon to Follow Imam Sadr’s Cause’

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian