LONDON—Another member of Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi’s regime has defected and fled the country, two Libyan analysts in London said on Monday, as fighting continued between government troops and rebel forces.
Sassi Garada, one of the first men to join Qaddafi when he took power more than 40 years ago, left Libya through Tunisia, according to Noman Benotman, a Libyan analyst in London who was in contact with his friends and family. Guma el-Gamaty, UK organizer for Libya’s interim council, also confirmed the defection. This developed as Libyan rebels broke out toward Tripoli from the opposition-held port of Misrata 140 miles to the east, cracking a government siege as fighters across the country mounted a resurgence in their four-month-old revolt against Qaddafi.
The rebels gained a diplomatic boost as well when the visiting the German foreign minister said the nascent opposition government was “the legitimate representative of the Libyan people.” Guido Westerwelle was visiting Benghazi, the capital of the rebel-held east of the country, to open a liaison office and hand over medical supplies.
He stopped short of full diplomatic recognition of the Transitional National Council, as has the United States, awaiting the ouster of Qaddafi from his more than 40-year rule in the oil-rich North African country. Germany has refused to participate in Nato air strikes in Libya and withheld its support for the UN resolution that allowed the attacks.
There were initial reports that Garada fled to Britain, where he has several family members, but Benotman said Garada was in Switzerland.
British officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss immigration and security matters, said they could not confirm whether Garada was in the UK Swiss Foreign ministry spokesman Carole Waelti told AP the government was “not aware of the possible presence of Mr. Garada in Switzerland.”
A long-time supporter of Qaddafi, Garada reportedly passed up several military promotions over the years to stay out of the limelight and serve Qaddafi, according to Benotman, who works as an analyst for the London-based Quilliam Foundation.
Garada is also from Libya’s Berber minority, which has often fought with the Arab majority to have their language and customs protected. Many of the Berbers also occupy the Western mountains of Libya, where Garada had been in charge of trying to neutralize tensions, el-Gamaty said. It is not known why Garada defected
or when, but he is one in a growing list of senior officials who have fled the country, suggesting Qaddafi may be losing his grip on power.
Last month Shukri Ghanem, the Libyan oil minister and head of the National Oil Co., crossed into neighboring Tunisia. Others who have defected include Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa, one of Qaddafi’s earliest supporters; Interior Minister Abdel-Fatah Younes; Justice Minister Mustafa Abdul-Jalil; and Ali Abdessalam Treki, a former UN General Assembly president. A number of ambassadors and other diplomats also have resigned.
