An assault rifle clutched in one hand and the other emphatically punctuating his words as he addressed a cheering crowd of supporters, was the image that surfaced Monday of Gadhafi’s second oldest son, Saif al-Islam, seen on a video taken with a mobile phone.
Gadhafi’s sons show different degrees of loyalty to their father, according to global intelligence company Stratfor. Gadhafi’s fourth son, Mutassim Gadhafi, Libya’s national security adviser, has held close ties with the army elite, while reform-minded Seif al-Islam could not get along with the military elite. The two have historically tendered a fierce rivalry. At the moment, however, it is Seif al-Islam who was seen atop a tank motivating troops loyal to Gadhafi. But how deep the sons’ loyalty actually goes will be seen as the pressure mounts, according to Stratfor.
As tensions remain vicious, Gadhafi is bringing those he trusts close to him. On Monday he fired the head of the intelligence organization and replaced him with one of his bodyguards, Quryna Libyan, Stratfor reported.
Gadhafi, now protected in Tripoli by an elite military brigade led by his youngest son Khamis, has seen much of his 150,000-troop army desert. Over the years, Gadhafi has tried to keep the Libyan military divided to prevent it from becoming too powerful. But this strategy has now turned against him with army units easily joining the ranks of anti-government protesters.
According to Stratfor, the tactic of dividing the military “can help keep a regime secure,” but “it can also create deep rifts that can quickly widen when the regime begins to weaken.”
On Monday, Gadhafi completely denied the occurrence of demonstrations against him in Libya. “No demonstration at all in the streets” he said in an interview with BBC. “Did you see demonstrations?” he asked the BBC reporter. When the reporter said he had seen some anti-government demonstrations Gadhafi responded, “They are not against us. No one is against us. Against us for what? Because I’m not a president. They love me. All my people are with me, they love me all. They will die to protect me, my people.”
In the city of Benghazi on the east coast of Libya, rebels, including remnants of the traditional public army, are gathered under leadership of Colonel Hamid Belkhair, who was a Libyan officer until two weeks ago, the Guardian reported.
Another rebel officer, Major Ibrahim Agouri, said in an interview from the rebel camp, “All of us [in Benghazi] defected as soon as this revolution started. His [Gadhafi’s] special security forces went with him. They are all for his own protection and they have no problem killing their own people.”
According to the Guardian, the rebels were hit by a small air attack Monday, which they expect will be followed by others. Belkair told the paper that his soldiers are willing to fight but he thinks the odds are not in their favor because the weapons Gadhafi holds are far superior to the ones the rebels were able to retrieve. Belkair said his army would accept weapons from foreign countries but did not want the aid of foreign soldiers as this could strengthen the government’s position that the coup is being led by foreigners.
In response to the violent measures used against Libyan civilians, The United States, EU, and U.N. imposed increased restrictions on members of Muammar Gadhafi’s regime in recent days. The U.S. Treasury Monday blocked Libyan assets worth $30 billion following a unanimous vote by the U.N. on Saturday to impose restrictive measures on Libya. The U.N. imposed an arms embargo and a travel ban for Gadhafi’s family and persons related to the regime. On Saturday the EU also froze Gadhafi’s family’s assets and imposed a travel ban on his family and regime cadres.
The U.N. estimated that 100,000 people fled Libya last week, while those staying in Tripoli reportedly bought large amounts of groceries, indicating that they fear they may not be able to obtain food in the near future.
Gadhafi’s sons show different degrees of loyalty to their father, according to global intelligence company Stratfor. Gadhafi’s fourth son, Mutassim Gadhafi, Libya’s national security adviser, has held close ties with the army elite, while reform-minded Seif al-Islam could not get along with the military elite. The two have historically tendered a fierce rivalry. At the moment, however, it is Seif al-Islam who was seen atop a tank motivating troops loyal to Gadhafi. But how deep the sons’ loyalty actually goes will be seen as the pressure mounts, according to Stratfor.
As tensions remain vicious, Gadhafi is bringing those he trusts close to him. On Monday he fired the head of the intelligence organization and replaced him with one of his bodyguards, Quryna Libyan, Stratfor reported.
Gadhafi, now protected in Tripoli by an elite military brigade led by his youngest son Khamis, has seen much of his 150,000-troop army desert. Over the years, Gadhafi has tried to keep the Libyan military divided to prevent it from becoming too powerful. But this strategy has now turned against him with army units easily joining the ranks of anti-government protesters.
According to Stratfor, the tactic of dividing the military “can help keep a regime secure,” but “it can also create deep rifts that can quickly widen when the regime begins to weaken.”
On Monday, Gadhafi completely denied the occurrence of demonstrations against him in Libya. “No demonstration at all in the streets” he said in an interview with BBC. “Did you see demonstrations?” he asked the BBC reporter. When the reporter said he had seen some anti-government demonstrations Gadhafi responded, “They are not against us. No one is against us. Against us for what? Because I’m not a president. They love me. All my people are with me, they love me all. They will die to protect me, my people.”
Rebel Leaders
In the city of Benghazi on the east coast of Libya, rebels, including remnants of the traditional public army, are gathered under leadership of Colonel Hamid Belkhair, who was a Libyan officer until two weeks ago, the Guardian reported.
Another rebel officer, Major Ibrahim Agouri, said in an interview from the rebel camp, “All of us [in Benghazi] defected as soon as this revolution started. His [Gadhafi’s] special security forces went with him. They are all for his own protection and they have no problem killing their own people.”
According to the Guardian, the rebels were hit by a small air attack Monday, which they expect will be followed by others. Belkair told the paper that his soldiers are willing to fight but he thinks the odds are not in their favor because the weapons Gadhafi holds are far superior to the ones the rebels were able to retrieve. Belkair said his army would accept weapons from foreign countries but did not want the aid of foreign soldiers as this could strengthen the government’s position that the coup is being led by foreigners.
International Pressure
In response to the violent measures used against Libyan civilians, The United States, EU, and U.N. imposed increased restrictions on members of Muammar Gadhafi’s regime in recent days. The U.S. Treasury Monday blocked Libyan assets worth $30 billion following a unanimous vote by the U.N. on Saturday to impose restrictive measures on Libya. The U.N. imposed an arms embargo and a travel ban for Gadhafi’s family and persons related to the regime. On Saturday the EU also froze Gadhafi’s family’s assets and imposed a travel ban on his family and regime cadres.
The U.N. estimated that 100,000 people fled Libya last week, while those staying in Tripoli reportedly bought large amounts of groceries, indicating that they fear they may not be able to obtain food in the near future.
