Moammar Gaddafi
Photo: Reuters
Report: Gaddafi hiding in Tripoli caverns
Libyan leader releases statement meant to rebuff rumors of injury, says he is beyond NATO’s reach
Where is Moammar Gaddafi? A recent report suggests that the embattled Libyan leader is hiding in underground caves in Tripoli.
Gaddafi's government denied a Friday report saying he was injured in recent NATO strike on the capital, and he himself issued a statement saying he would outlast NATO’s pounding of the country’s capital.
“I tell the coward crusaders — I live in a place that you cannot reach. I live in the hearts of millions,” Gaddafi said in a brief audio recording played on Libyan state television.
The assumption that Gaddafi is hiding in a cave located underneath the Libyan capital is being fed by the fact that he is rarely seen taking the regular road between his headquarters and the hotel he often uses for speeches, and usually travels the mile-long stretch in between using a tunnel connecting the two locations.
According to the British Telegraph, Gaddafi's statement aimed to rebuff comments by Italian Foreign Minister, Franco Frattini, suggesting the Libyan leader was “probably wounded” in a major missile strike on what was apparently an underground bunker at his compound in Tripoli. Frattini did, however, acknowledge that he had no evidence of that fact.
NATO forces have launched strikes on Libya for two months under a UN resolution authorizing them to protect civilians from Gaddafi’s attacks. In recent days, the coalition has escalated strikes on the capital to degrade Gaddafi’s war machine and push him to give up.
The pressure on Gaddafi appeared likely to further escalate: The International Criminal Court said prosecutors would produce arrest warrants Monday for three people accused of crimes against humanity in connection with the Libya strife.
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