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Libyans insult Saudi FM
EFL/FU:Two Libyan men shouted insults at Saudi Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faisal on Monday and tried to attack him in the lobby of a Cairo hotel in response to past jibes at their leader Muammar Gaddafi, a police officer said. According to the officer, the pair, aged 25 and 27, were prevented from coming close to the Saudi minister by his bodyguards and were then arrested by Egyptian security officers. Whereâs a boomer when you need one? Prince Saud confirmed later the incident. "One man tried to aggress me but the men around me prevented him," he told reporters as he emerged from an Arab foreign ministersâ meeting held at the headquarters of the Arab League. The police officer said the two Libyans were bitter over remarks made at an Arab summit on March 1 in Egypt by Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, who branded Gaddafi a "liar" and a "slave of colonialism". "They said they had acted spontaneously, not upon instructions from their government," the officer added. Theyâll get a bonus when they get home. A witness said the Libyans dashed towards prince Saud, shouting "how dare you insult Muammar?". The police officer said one of the two Libyans raised his fist but the bodyguards pushed him back before he could reach the minister. He did not confirm accounts by an employee of the hotel that the minister had been hit on the shoulder before his bodyguards reacted. So close, such poor security, sigh. The spat between Gaddafi and Crown Prince Abdullah was broadcast live on television. It came after the Libyan leader charged in a speech to fellow Arab leaders that Riyadh was ready to "strike an alliance with the devil" to shield itself from then Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. Itâs not the devil, dammit! Weâre the Great Satan, get it right. Another row broke out between Riyadh and Tripoli in August after Gaddafi claimed that Wahhabism, the rigorous Islamic school dominant in the kingdom, fosters terrorism. Well, he got that one right. Posted by: Steve 2003-09-09 |
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