Qaddafi Said to Seek Night Refuge in Hospitals
Qaddafi Seeks Sanctuary in Hospitals
Victor Sokolowicz/Bloomberg
Muammar Qaddafi, Libya's leader, speaks at an equestrian show at the Tor di Quinto cavalry school in Rome on Aug. 30, 2010.
Muammar Qaddafi, Libya's leader, speaks at an equestrian show at the Tor di Quinto cavalry school in Rome on Aug. 30, 2010. Photographer: Victor Sokolowicz/Bloomberg
Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi is shuttling between Tripoli’s hospitals to elude nighttime raids by NATO jets, a European government official said.
Qaddafi is moving between the hospitals because he knows North Atlantic Treaty Organization aircraft won’t bomb them, the official said, citing intelligence on the ground. He declined to be named because the information is not in the public domain.
Senior commanders in Qaddafi’s forces have also stopped using mobile phones because of concerns that their conversations are being intercepted by French, British and U.S. intelligence, limiting the regime’s top ranks from communicating effectively, the official said. The intelligence has been gleaned over the past week, he said.
Allied forces have intensified their attacks on the Qaddafi regime this week, and President Barack Obama and U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron vowed two days ago to step up the pressure on him. NATO said May 20 its increased air campaign in support of anti-Qaddafi rebels has “effectively” pushed the Libyan leader into hiding. British ministers have given approval in principle to deploy Apache attack helicopters, a U.K. official said yesterday.
Survived Attack
Moussa Ibrahim, a spokesman for the Libyan Foreign Ministry, said in a May 1 news conference that Qaddafi and his wife survived an attack that killed his son and grandchildren late on April 30. Since then, there is increasing evidence that Qaddafi fears for his life, the European official said.
Qaddafi is staying no longer than one night in any hospital, the official said. He said the Libyan leader’s behavior also indicates he’s concerned that senior supporters in his military and government may turn against him.
Obama appealed two days ago for patience in the effort to remove Qaddafi from power and said allied leaders won’t set a timeline for completing military operations. The U.S. and its allies are making “enormous progress” and won’t let up until the Libyan leader is deposed, Obama said in London. He ruled out putting troops on the ground there.
Britain will deploy helicopters based on a warship in the Mediterranean Sea to join similar French aircraft in raids on Libyan targets, the U.K. official said.
To contact the reporters on this story: Gonzalo Vina in Deauville, France, at gvina@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Hertling at jhertling@bloomberg.net
Rate this Page