Qaddafi son vows to fight to death, says dad OK

Seif al-Islam Qaddafi, son of embattled Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi, embraces his brother Mohammad during the funeral of their brother Seif al-Arab Qaddafi at the Al-Hani cemetery in Tripoli, Libya, May 2, 2011, after the 29-year-old was killed along with three of the leader's grandchildren in a NATO airstrike May 1, 2011. / AFP/Getty Images

TRIPOLI, Libya - Muammar Qaddafi's son Seif al-Islam vowed Wednesday to fight to the death, insisting no regime loyalists would surrender to the rebels, who are closing in on Qaddafi's final strongholds.

Seif al-Islam, Qaddafi's longtime heir-apparent, said he was speaking from the suburbs of Tripoli and insisted his father was fine.

"We are going to die in our land," he said in an audio statement broadcast on Syria's Al-Rai television, claiming he was speaking for loyalist leaders who had met in the Qaddafi bastion of Bani Walid. "No one is going to surrender."

Libya rebels give Qaddafi loyalists an ultimatum
Special section: Anger in the Arab World

His statement came shortly after a conflicting interview on Al-Arabiya television by a man claiming to be his brother, al-Saadi, who said he was ready to mediate talks with the rebels in order to bring the fighting to an end.

"The most important thing is to stop the bloodshed," al-Saadi told the Saudia Arabian television network, claiming he was speaking on behalf of his father.

Seif al-Islam's voice was easily recognizable, but al-Saadi's was more difficult to confirm.

A rebel commander in Tripoli, Abdel Hakim Belhaj, said earlier Wednesday that al-Saadi was trying to negotiate terms for his own surrender if his safety could be guaranteed. When asked about that report, al-Saadi said he had talked to Belhaj and several other rebel officials, but that he was only offering to surrender to bring an end to the bloodshed.

The dueling audio statements suggest growing turmoil in Qaddafi's inner circle as the rebel forced pressed toward three of the loyalists' main strongholds, Qaddafi's hometown of Sirte and the desert towns of Bani Walid and Sabha. The rebels also say they are closing in on the elder Qaddafi, who has been on the run since rebels swept into the capital last week.

Thursday will mark the 42nd anniversary of the coup that brought Qaddafi to power.

Hassan al-Saghir, a rebel official who oversees an area that includes the southern city of Sabha, said clashes occurred there and on the outskirts of Bani Walid, 90 miles (140 kilometers) southeast of Tripoli.

"We are asking them to surrender before Saturday," he said of the fighters in Sabha, "but so far there are no signs that they are ready to surrender. I think they still think they are able to control the south."

"It is a desperate attempt and it will not last long," he added.

Belhaj said al-Saadi first called him Tuesday and asked about his safety if he surrendered. "We told him 'Don't fear for your life. We will guarantee your rights as a human being, and will deal with you humanely,' Belhaj said, adding that al-Saadi would be turned over to Libyan legal authorities.

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,"' said Belhaj.

The commander said al-Saadi had called back 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.

Qaddafi's chief spokesman, Moussa Ibrahim, has repeatedly said in telephone calls to The Associated Press that the senior Qaddafi was offering to send al-Saadi to negotiate with the rebels and form a transitional government. The rebels have previously rejected such offers.

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

"No dignified honorable nation would accept an ultimatum from armed gangs," he said.

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

Belhaj said the rebels have set up an operations room to collect any information about the elder Qaddafi's whereabouts, gathering tips from rebels and captured regime fighters.

Qaddafi's wife, Safiya, sons Mohammed and Hannibal and daughter Aisha fled to Algeria on Monday. Rebel authorities have called on Algeria to send them back, saying they want Qaddafi and his family to be tried in Libya.

But international human rights activists are urging the rebels to turn the dictator over to the International Criminal Court for trial. Leading the calls is the court's Argentine prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, who has charged Qaddafi and his son Seif al-Islam and the regime's intelligence chief, Abdullah al-Sanoussi, with unleashing a campaign of murder and torture since February to try to crush anti-government protests.

Human Rights Watch also urged diplomats meeting Libyan rebels in Paris on Thursday to push for Qaddafi's surrender to The Hague-based international court if he is captured.

In Tripoli, meanwhile, Libyans wept over the graves of those killed in their six-month war against Qaddafi, then celebrated their newfound freedom with morning prayers and joyous chants in the main square — bittersweet rituals marking the start of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr.

Men in their holiday finest — white robes and gold-striped vests — knelt in neat prayer rows in Martyrs' Square, the plaza formerly known as Green Square, where Qaddafi supporters massed nightly during the uprising.

The prayer leader urged the crowd not to seek retribution against Qaddafi loyalists. "No to revenge, yes to the law that rules between us and those who killed our brothers," he said. "Let there be forgiveness and mercy among us."

Women in black robes ululated, rebel fighters fired guns in the air and people burst into spontaneous chants of "Hold your head high, Libya is free!"

[Jaylah54]

I'm sure his death can be arranged, just like his father.

[baileyccc]

We need to fix them scumbags right up, fight to the death, what a Grand Idea.

[formrusmcsgt]

Qaddafi son vows to fight to death
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He talks big.

Lets see if he really has the gonads to back it up when the time comes.

10 to 1 he craps his pants.

[retm-w]

He's going to fight to the death, just not his death. Just "a chip off the old block".

[redbeachvn]

I suspect there are lots of people hoping to get hold of Gadafi's family members not so much for justice but for the where about of hundreds of billions of dollars. They want to know the account locations, user names and passwords.

[sepa2]

50K died from this operation to protect civilians according to a rebel leader. Actual number may be much higher. Shame

[WildBill935]

I'll send him plenty of blank ammunition to keep up the fight.

[samXXkiley]

coucou,
""""Seif al-Islam, Qaddafi's longtime heir-apparent, said he was speaking from the suburbs of Tripoli and insisted his father "was fine"...""""
"au revoir"

[mentalist65]

Give it up. People are tired of dictators.

[bobnjersey]

[His deputy, Ali Tarhouni, said in Tripoli that "sometimes to avoid bloodshed you must shed blood, and the faster we do this, the less blood we will shed."]
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well then ... bloodshed for all ... and all for bloodshed ... shedding blood in the name of peace and health.