Libya could fall into hands of extremists, Nato warns

[Pastor Dale Morgan]

Perilous Times

Libya could fall into hands of extremists, Nato warns

The warning came in an exclusive interview with The Daily Telegraph as Muammar Gaddafi's loyalist forces stepped up a fightback on three fronts.
All eyes on the desert as the hunt for Gaddafi continues

Rebels make their way towards the front, north of the besieged city of Bani Walid Photo: PA/MOHAMED MESSARA
Thomas Harding

By Thomas Harding, Ruth Sherlock in Bani Walid and Richard Spencer in Tripoli

10:01PM BST 12 Sep 2011
The Telegraph UK


Libya is in danger of falling into the hands of Islamic extremists if a stable government is not rapidly established, Nato’s secretary-general warned last night.

In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Islamic extremists would “try to exploit” any weaknesses created as the country tried to rebuild after four decades of Col Muammar Gaddafi’s rule.

Mr Rasmussen was speaking amid growing evidence of splits in the rebel leadership in Tripoli. His words will cast a damper over the euphoria sweeping Tripoli in the wake of the revolution.

His warning came as the head of the National Transitional Council, Mustafa Abdul Jalil, told cheering crowds in Tripoli that Islamic shariah law would be the “main source” of legislation in the new Libya.

Mr Jalil, who only arrived in his new capital on Saturday, made his first public speech in Martyrs’ Square - once Col Gaddafi’s “Green Square” - last night.

“We are a Muslim people, for a moderate Islam, and we will stay on this road,” he said. His formulation suggested that Libya would follow neighbours such as Egypt in allowing room for secular freedoms.

But there are already signs that the rebel leadership is split over a variety of issues including the future role of the Islamist militias which played a significant part in the revolution.

Mahmoud Jibril, the interim Libyan prime minister, also arrived in Tripoli at the end of last week after complaints that he had been too busy travelling the world to lead his own revolution. On Sunday night he was forced to announce that his first government reshuffle would take place in seven to ten days.

Asked if Nato was worried that a delay in setting up a fully fledged new government increased the risk of extremists taking control, Mr Rasmussen said: “We cannot exclude the possibility that extremists will try to exploit a situation and take advantage of a power vacuum.”

The rebel leadership faces threats on many fronts, including from Col Gaddafi himself.

Last night, he issued a new message through a Syrian-based television station, accusing the rebels of surrendering Libya to foreign influence and pledging to press ahead with resistance.

“We will not hand Libya to colonialism, once again, as the traitors want,” said the statement read on Syria’s Al-Rai TV.

Gaddafi was originally due to be televised, but the station said his appearance was postponed due to “security reasons”.

Despite the flight of many of his lieutenants and all but two of his children, he still controls part of the south of the country, and his forces managed a raid on an oil refinery complex behind rebel lines that killed 15 people.

Witnesses said a convoy drove out of the desert at 9am and attacked the Ras Lanuf refinery west of Benghazi, on the road towards the Gaddafi stronghold of Sirte which is still resisting rebel control.

Mr Rasmussen admitted things could “move very fast” if Gaddafi was removed. “I think that he still inspires resistance in some pockets of Gaddafi loyalists.

“I do believe we are in the very final phase of our operation. But there’s still a threat to the civilian population and as long as that exists we will continue our operation.”

On Monday night Mr Jalil called on Libyans build a state based on the rule of law.

"No retribution, no taking matters into your own hands and no oppression. I hope that the revolution will not stumble because of any of these things," he said.

Nato staged a series of bombing raids at the weekend on both Sirte and Bani Walid, which has been under rebel siege for a fortnight.

Bani Walid was on the brink of being taken by the rebels on Sunday night. But amid a breakdown of communications and tactics between the two brigades of rebel fighters leading the attack, Gaddafi forces launched a counter-offensive and won back most of the town.

The Tripoli Brigade, which had led the attack, went further than they had been ordered, and they complained that the Bani Walid brigade of local fighters refused to back them up.

The bitter rivalry between the different rebel brigades, mostly structured along city or regional lines, also reflects the widening divisions across not just the military but political leadership of the new Libya.

Mr Jibril is also attempting to enforce his authority over powerful military commanders such as Abdulhakim Belhadj, the former Islamist opposition leader who is now head of the Tripoli Military Council.

Mr Jibril, a former head of planning and the economy under Gaddafi, is distrusted by many long-term regime opponents such as Mr Belhadj, who spent years in a Libyan prison after being extradited with the help of MI6 and the CIA.

Last night the US State Department confirmed that Gaddafi’s son Saddi had fled to Niger on Sunday. Niger said it was keeping him under surveillance and has not detained him.