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| Africa North |
| NTC Official Attends Tuareg-Arab Talks in Ghadames |
| 2011-10-01 |
| [Tripoli Post] The National Transitional Council's military chief Suleiman Mahmoud al-Obeidi on Friday attended a meeting in the southwestern town of Ghadames between Tuareg rustics and local Arabs in the Ghadames, that had been believed to have been hiding former Libyan leader Muammar Al Qadaffy. ...Custodian of Wheelus AFB for 42 long years... The meeting at the town close to the border with Algeria was aimed at patching up differences that have recently spilled over into violence and drew international attention on it when it was the subject of speculations that Tuaregs there were protecting the runaway leader. Before going to the meeting, in the town about 600 km southwest of the capital Tripoli Mr al-Obeidi would not comment with Rooters on the report or on the hunt for Al Qadaffy. He told the news agency: "I am now here to to witness the agreement between Ghadames and the Tuareg. There has been a problem since July 17." Al-Obeidi, who took part in the 1969 coup that brought Al Qadaffy to power at the end of a bloodless coup, said he had joined the revolution on the 20th day of the Mohammedan fasting month of Ramadan. He told Rooters> "On the 17th of Ramadan Al Qadaffy sent me 1,000 weapons to attack the city of Darnah, but I refused to do that ... and on the 18th of Ramadan he sent to me mercenaries with the same intention but I refused. On the 20th of Ramadan I joined the revolution." Earlier this month Tuareg rustics reportedly fought skirmishes in the Ghadames area with gangs from Libya's interim government. Tuaregs, are known to have backed the deposed Libyan leader because he supported their rebellion against the governments of Mali and Niger in the 1970s and later allowed many of them to settle in southern Libya. They reportedly view the NTC with suspicion. |
| Posted by:Fred |