Libyan rebels have announced an amnesty for anyone within
Col Muammar Gaddafi’s inner circle who captures or kills him, and a $1.7m (£1m)
reward. Col Gaddafi’s whereabouts are unknown, though rebels have they think he
is still in or around Tripoli.
Rebel fighters have running battles in the capital, where
pockets of pro-Gaddafi resistance remain. The fugitive leader has vowed in an
audio message to fight until victory or martyrdom.
His sprawling Bab al Aziziya compound was overrun on Tuesday,
though there were firefights within the complex on Wednesday.
Col Gaddafi’s forces are still firmly in control of his
birthplace- the strategic coastal city of Sirte as well as several key bases in
southern Libya.
Huge incentive:
The heads of the NTC, Mustafa Abdul Jalil, announced the
amnesty offer from the eastern city of Benghazi.
“Gaddafi’s forces and his accomplices will not stop
resisting until Gaddafi is caught or killed,“ he said.
He added that the NTC supported an offer by a group of
businessmen to pay $1.7m for Col Gaddafi, dead or alive. Rebel spokesman Guma
el-Gamaty told the BBC that those around Col Gaddafi were “ heavily implicated
with him in crimes against humanity and crimes against the Libyan people.
The rebel leadership has also offered Col Gaddafi safe
passage out of the country, if he renounces his leadership.
Tactical move:
Despite thousands of rebel fighters overrunning Col Gaddafi’s
Bab Al Aziziya compound in Tripoli on Tuesday, they were meeting fierce
resistance from well armed loyalists a day later.
Col Gaddafis also believed to retain a strong following in
two other cities-Sirte, his homwtown 450km to the east of the capital, and
Sabha, 650km to the South in the desert.
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