Rebels: Gadhafi son offers to surrender

TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) — Moammar Gadhafi's son al-Saadi is trying to negotiate the terms of his own surrender, the rebel commander in Tripoli told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

The commander, Abdel Hakim Belhaj, said al-Saadi first called him Tuesday and asked whether his safety could be guaranteed. "We told him 'Don't fear for your life. We will guarantee your rights as a human being, and will deal with you humanely,' said Belhaj, who added that al-Saadi would be turned over to legal authorities.

Libyans wave flags in Green Square, renamed Martyr's Square,
for the morning Eid prayer, marking the end of Ramadan and to
celebrate their victory over embattled Moammar Gadhafi, inTripoli, Libya, Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2011. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)

If the offer is confirmed — the rebels have previously claimed to have captured Gadhafi's son Seif al-Islam, who hours later turned up free — the surrender would be a major blow to Gadhafi's crumbling regime. The rebels have been pressing toward Gadhafi's last major stronghold, his hometown of Sirte, and loyalists now only control a handful of major cities.

Belhaj said Al-Saadi told him he had not killed anyone, and that "he was not against the people."

"I told him 'This is good. What is important for us is not to shed Libyan blood. For the members of the regime to surrender is the best way to do this,'" Belhaj said.

The commander said al-Saadi had called back early Wednesday morning, but that he had missed the call. He said he knows al-Saadi's whereabouts, but prefers to negotiate a surrender. He gave no further details.

Belhaj's comments came hours after Gadhafi's chief spokesman, Moussa Ibrahim, called the AP headquarters in NY, reiterating the senior Gadhafi's offer to send al-Saadi to negotiate with the rebels and form a transitional government. The rebels have previously rejected such offers.

Ibrahim also rejected a rebel ultimatum for loyalists in Sirte to surrender by Saturday or face an attack.

There has been speculation that Gadhafi is seeking refuge in Sirte or one of the other remaining regime strongholds, among them the towns of Bani Walid or Sabha. Top rebel officials say they have "a good idea" where Gadhafi is hiding, but haven't given any details.

"No dignified honorable nation would accept an ultimatum from armed gangs," he said. Ibrahim reiterated Gadhafi's offer to send his son al-Saadi to negotiate with rebels and form a transitional government.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Libyan rebels claim taking post on Tunisian border

TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) — A Libyan rebel leader said Thursday that opposition forces have control of a post on the Tunisian border near a former rebel-held town, which could open a new channel for anti-government forces in Moammar Gadhafi's bastion in western Libya.

In the rebel stronghold of Benghazi in eastern Libya, meanwhile, relief workers and medical teams awaited the arrival of a passenger ferry carrying about 1,000 people — mostly Libyan civilians and workers from Asia and Africa — out of the besieged city of Misrata, the main rebel holdout in Gadhafi's territory.

Libyan rebel fighters guard at a checkpoint at the streets of Misrata, Libya Wednesday, April 20, 2011. Inside the besieged city of Misrata, spent rockets protrude from the pavement of a parking lot, unarmed teenagers prepare plastic crates of Molotov cocktails, and fighters at roadblocks sit inside empty shipping containers outfitted with furniture, carpets and generator-powered TVs and watch Al-Jazeera reports of their war with Moammar Gadhafi. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

Also aboard the vessel were the bodies of an Oscar-nominated documentary maker from Britain and an American photographer who were killed covering clashes Wednesday. A day earlier, the ferry arrived in Misrata, delivering food and medical supplies to the beleaguered population.

The reported capture of the border crossing followed three days of intense fighting outside the desert town of Nalut, about 140 miles (240 kilometers) southwest of the capital Tripoli, said a rebel leader, Shaban Abu Sitta. The area was in hands of anti-government forces last month before Libyan troops moved in.

Holding the Dhuheiba border crossing could open important supply routes for anti-Gadhafi forces and give the rebels another foothold in western Libya. The claim could not be independently verified. Moammar Gadhafi's forces have sharply restricted the movement of journalists in the areas they control in western Libya.

"Rebels are now manning Dhuheiba crossing," said Abu Sitta, who claimed his fighters destroyed 30 army pickup trucks and captured 10 cars and some weapons.

On the Ionian Spirit ferry — part of a maritime lifeline to Misrata — Libyan civilians and migrants workers packed the decks, hallways and every other available space. In the ship's Panorama Bar, evacuees tossed mattresses onto the wooden dance floor. Women slipped behind a curtain to change.

The injured were brought to the lower level of the ship, where an 11-member medical team set up a makeshift intensive care unit.

Jeremy Haslam, a coordinator from the Geneva-based International Organization for Migration, said the boat has more than 1,000 evacuees including 239 Libyan civilians and 586 migrants from Niger and others from Africa and Asia.

He said some Libyans tried to flee Misrata aboard a tug boat, but were turned away because the vessel was overcrowded. Some managed to get aboard the ferry.

"We are carrying more than we are supposed to but it's better than letting these people leave on a tugboat," said Haslam.

The number of people seeking to flee Misrata has surged as Libyan forces expand their shelling to areas once considered relatively safe havens from attacks.

"Our neighborhood became a war zone so we had to get out," said Faiza Stayta, who made it aboard the ferry with her husband and two children. "All the firing is random. You hear a rocket and how have no idea if it will come down on your house."

The vessel carried the bodies of Chris Hondros, a New York-based photographer for Getty Images, and British-born Tim Hetherington, co-director of the 2010 Afghanistan war documentary "Restrepo" that was nominated for an Academy Award. The film was co-directed by Sebastian Junger, author of "The Perfect Storm."

They were killed Wednesday in an attack that also injured two other photographers. A statement from Hetherington's family said he was killed by a rocket-propelled grenade. The ship also held the body of a Ukrainian doctor killed Wednesday from an artillery blast, said Haslam of the IOM.

The group is planning to send another ship to Misrata carrying 500 tons of food and medical supplies. The IOM said it has evacuated more than 3,100 people from Misrata.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Libyan rebels say NATO airstrikes hit their forces

AJDABIYA, Libya (AP) — Rebel fighters claimed NATO airstrikes blasted their forces Thursday in another apparent mistake that sharply escalated anger about coordination with the military alliance in efforts to cripple Libyan forces. At least two rebels were killed and more than a dozen injured, a doctor said.

RETRANSMISSION FOR IMPROVED QUALITY A Libyan rebel, left, looks through his binoculars as his fellow rebel makes a signal as shells explode at a distance on the frontline near Brega, Libya, Wednesday, April 6, 2011. The French foreign minister defended NATO airstrikes in Libya against mounting rebel complaints Wednesday, saying it has become hard to distinguish Moammar Gadhafi's forces from civilians and friendly forces. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

The attack — near the front lines outside the eastern oil port of Brega — would be the second accidental NATO strike against rebel forces in less than a week and brought cries of outrage from fighters struggling against Moammar Gadhafi's larger and more experienced military.

"Down, down with NATO," shouted one fighter as dozens of rebel vehicles raced eastward from the front toward the rebel-held city of Ajbadiya.

In Brussels, a NATO official said the alliance will look into the latest rebel claims but he had no immediate information. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity under standing regulations.

NATO last week took control over the international airstrikes that began March 19 as a U.S.-led mission. The airstrikes thwarted Gadhafi's efforts to crush the rebellion in the North African nation he has ruled for more than four decades, but the rebels remain outnumbered and outgunned and have had difficulty pushing into government-held territory even with air support.

A rebel commander, Ayman Abdul-Karim, said he saw airstrikes hit tanks and a rebel convoy, which included a passenger bus carrying fighters toward Brega. He and other rebels described dozens killed or wounded, but a precise casualty toll was not immediately known.

A doctor at Ajbadiya Hospital, Hakim al-Abeidi, said at least two people were killed and 16 injured, some with serious burns. Other rebel leaders said other casualties were left in the field in the chaos to flee the area.

On Saturday, a NATO airstrike killed 13 rebel fighters in eastern Libya. An opposition spokesman described it as an "unfortunate accident" in the shifting battles and pledged support for the international air campaign to weaken Gadhafi's military power.

But rebel discontent with NATO appears to be growing. Opposition commanders have complained in recent days that the airstrikes were coming too slowly and lacking the precision to give the rebels a clear edge. NATO officials say that the pro-Gadhafi troops have blended into civilian areas in efforts to frustrate the alliances bombing runs.

The rebel commander Adbul-Karim said the tops of rebel vehicles were marked with yellow under advice by NATO to identify the opposition forces. The attack occurred about 18 miles (30 kilometers) from Brega, where rebel forces have struggled to break through government lines.

In the Libyan capital, Tripoli, government officials have blamed Britain for attacks on the country's largest oil field, countering rebel claims that Gadhafi forces were behind the attacks that have shut down production.

Libya's deputy foreign minister Khaled Kaim said late Wednesday that British airstrikes damaged the Sarir oil field, killing three guards and other oil workers. He didn't say why he specified Britain, which is part of a NATO effort.

Two explosions were heard Thursday in Tripoli, but the cause of the blasts was not immediately known.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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