Libyan Oil Minister May Have Defected to Tunisia

Libyan Oil Minister Shukri Ghanem speaks during a press conference in Tripoli on March 19. Ghanem apparently defected from the country, according to reports on Tuesday. (mahmud Turkia/Getty Images )

A top official in Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi’s regime apparently defected from the country, according to media reports on Tuesday.

Shukri Ghanem, the country’s oil minister and also a former prime minister, left the country and crossed the Libya-Tunisia border over the weekend, The Associated Press reported, citing Tunisian government officials.

If Ghanem did in fact defect, it could represent another major blow to the power structure inside of Gadhafi’s regime. His former spokesperson, Moussa Koussa, defected in late March to the U.K.

It is unclear if the blow to the regime will impact Gadhafi’s ability to continue fighting rebel forces.

Another Tunisian security source told Reuters that Ghanem “is in a hotel with a group of other Libyan officials” on the Tunisian island town of Djerba.

Moussa Ibrahim, spokesperson for the Libyan government said that Ghanem went to Tunisia for “official business,” but added they have not been able to contact him since Monday, according to the Washington Post.

The news comes as the International Criminal Court considers the chief prosecutor’s request to issue arrest warrants for Gadhafi and his son for war crimes and human rights violations during anti-government protests.