Last stand for Gadhafi?
Loyalists move prisoners, may be preparing for battle
BENGHAZI, Libya – Forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi have moved hundreds of hostages to a village outside Sirte in what appear to be preparations for a final violent stand, officials of the National Transitional Council said Thursday.
The transfer of as many as 300 rebels taken captive during recent fighting to the village of Qasr bu Hadi, which is about 10 miles east of Sirte, took place earlier this week, transitional council officials told McClatchy Newspapers.
Fathi Baja, the head of political affairs for the council, equated the transfer of the prisoners to “taking human shields.”
Gadhafi loyalists also arrested at least four prominent backers of the National Transitional Council in Sirte on Wednesday and have moved them as well to Qasr bu Hadi, which is under the control of Gadhafi’s Gaddhafiya tribe, according to Hassan al Droe, Sirte’s representative to the council.
A rebel deadline for a negotiated settlement runs out at midnight today, and officials are now girding for a bloody endgame.
Gadhafi and his backers appeared to be preparing a final stand. The former dictator has been issuing orders on a local FM radio station, council officials said, urging his loyalists to continue the fight.
In a local radio statement issued Wednesday and not previously reported, Gadhafi commanded his backers to organize 1,000 cars and drive east on Libya’s Mediterranean coast to reconquer the oil refinery town of Brega, Droe told McClatchy Newspapers.
Only 90 vehicles responded, however, according to Droe, who said he stays in touch with town elders by satellite phone. It would have been a quixotic mission in any case; Brega lies 200 miles east of Sirte, and NATO bombers – or rebel forces – could readily have intercepted any mass movement of vehicles.
“He wants all, even those who believe in him, to die,” Droe said.
Droe estimated that there were about 1,000 loyalist fighters in Sirte and about the same number in Qasr bu Hadi.
National Transitional Council officials said they don’t know for sure where Gadhafi is now hiding, but the moves by his loyalists around Sirte, together with the FM broadcast, seemed to point to his likely presence near the city.
Qasr bu Hadi has been sealed off by rebel forces for the past 10 days, Droe said.