Libyan Rebels Enter Tripoli, Declare End to Qaddafi Rule
Libyan rebel fighters embrace at the former female military base in Tripoli, Libya, on Aug. 22, 2011. Photographer: Sergey Ponomarev/AP
Aug. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Bloomberg's Mia Saini reports on fighting in Libya. Libyan rebels said they captured two of Muammar Qaddafi’s sons as they swept through the capital Tripoli in a drive to force Qaddafi out after 42 years of near-absolute power. (Source: Bloomberg)
Aug. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Libyan rebels swept into Tripoli and captured two of Muammar Qaddafi’s sons as the battle to end his 42 years of autocratic rule arrived at the doorstep of his presidential compound. Lara Setrakian reports on Bloomberg Television's "InsideTrack." (Source: Bloomberg)
Aug. 22 (Bloomberg) -- U.K. Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg talks about the prospects for the Libyan economy and oil output as rebels advance into Tripoli and search for Muammar Qaddafi. He speaks with Bloomberg's Caroline Connan in London. (Source: Bloomberg)
Tens of thousands of Libyans celebrate the arrest of Kadhafi's son Saif al-islam and the partial fall of Tripoli in the hands of the Libyan rebels on August 21, 2011 in Benghazi, Libya. Photograph: Gianluigi Guercia/AFP/Getty Images
Tens of thousands of Libyans celebrate the arrest of Kadhafi's son Saif al-islam and the partial fall of Tripoli in the hands of the Libyan rebels on August 21, 2011 in Benghazi, Libya. Photograph: Gianluigi Guercia/AFP/Getty Images
People in Tajura, a suburb of Tripoli, celebrating in the early morning on August 22, 2011 after Libyan rebels surged into Tripoli in a final drive to oust leader Moamer Kadhafi. Photographer: Mahmud Turkia/AFP/Getty Images
Libyan rebels said the 42-year rule of Muammar Qaddafi “is over” as opposition fighters engaged pockets of loyalist troops near the presidential compound in southern Tripoli and in the center of the capital.
President Barack Obama said Qaddafi must recognize he “no longer controls” Libya as celebrations broke out in Tripoli’s Green Square, the location for pro-government rallies in recent months. Government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said Qaddafi was ready to negotiate with Mustafa Abdel Jalil, the head of the rebel council, and asked for an immediate cease-fire as fighting continued in the city.
“The momentum against the Qaddafi regime has reached a tipping point,” Obama said in a statement released in Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. “Muammar Qaddafi and his regime need to recognize that their rule has come to an end.”
Rebels held three of Qaddafi’s sons captured during the advance into Tripoli and were searching for their father, who seized power in the oil-rich North African nation in a 1969 coup. The uprising, inspired by the popular revolts that ousted the leaders of Tunisia and Egypt, began in February and spread from the eastern rebel stronghold of Benghazi. Until this month, opposition fighters had struggled to take and hold government- controlled territory.
Qaddafi Era ‘Over’
While the rebels hadn’t yet taken full control of Tripoli, “the era of Qaddafi is over,” Abdel Jalil said today at a news conference in Benghazi. He called on rebel fighters to avoid reprisals, respect human rights and treat prisoners of war well.
Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the secretary-general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which has backed the rebels with aerial bombing since March, said in a statement that the Libyan “regime is clearly crumbling.” NATO will continue to deploy aircraft over Libya and monitor any remaining threats from Qaddafi’s forces, an alliance official said by phone from Brussels.
Brent oil tumbled as much as 3.2 percent in London, narrowing its record premium to the main U.S. oil grade, on speculation Libyan production may recover in the wake of the conflict. Output from Libya, which has the largest proven oil reserves of any African country, dropped to 100,000 barrels a day in July, down from the 1.6 million barrels the nation pumped before the uprising started. Prices rose in New York as the dollar weakened, making commodities more attractive as an investment.
Oil Markets
Brent oil for October settlement dropped $1.71, or 1.6 percent, to $106.91 a barrel at 9:19 a.m. in New York on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The contract has climbed 13 percent this year.
Shares of European companies with business in Libya, including Eni SpA (ENI) and Total SA (FP), gained on the prospect of an end to the conflict.
Rebels encountered pockets of resistance in the capital today, with heavy fighting continuing at Qaddafi’s compound in Bab Al Azizia. Besides the three sons captured by rebels, a fourth, Mutassim, was inside the compound, Al Arabiya cited rebels as saying. A fifth, Khamis, led a column of loyalist soldiers toward the city center where they clashed with rebel fighters, it reported.
In Green Square, Al Jazeera broadcast footage of residents singing national songs and firing into the air to celebrate the rebels’ advance. Some raised the rebel flag and others ripped up a poster of Qaddafi. Opposition forces took control of the state television and radio headquarters, Arabiya reported, shortly after state TV went off air.
Sons Arrested
Qaddafi’s son, Saif al-Islam, considered his heir to power, was arrested in Tripoli, said Mohamad Al Akari, an adviser to the National Transitional Council, the rebel governing body. The International Criminal Court is in talks with the council about the surrender of Saif al-Islam to the court, Fadi El-Abdallah, spokesman for the ICC, said by telephone today from its headquarters in The Hague.
Another son, Mohammed, was also arrested after rebels stormed his house, Al Jazeera reported. A third, Saadi, was also detained, Al Arabiya said.
While rebels including Akari said Qaddafi may have fled to the border, others said he was likely to still be in Tripoli. Qaddafi should be captured alive and put on trial for crimes against the Libyan people, Abdel Jalil said.
“I think Qaddafi is still in the country, the fighters will turn over every stone to find him, arrest him, and put him in court,” Mahmoud Al-Nakou, Libyan charge d’affaires to the U.K., said in a televised press conference in London today.
Tripoli Endgame
After six months of conflict the rebels expect the end of the regime within hours, Akari said. The fighting yesterday killed 376 and wounded more than 1,000 in Tripoli, according to Al Arabiya, citing unidentified Libyan government officials.
“We’ve been planning this for the past four, five months,” Akari said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. After Tripoli’s fall, it will take about a week to clear out pockets of Qaddafi defenders “to be sure we’re a safe city.”
U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron told reporters that he had spoken to Abdel Jalil about “the importance of respecting human rights, avoiding reprisals, and making sure all parts of Libya can share in the country’s future.”
Cameron said there is still “extremely fierce” fighting in Tripoli and “there can be no complacency” over the outcome.
The rebel advance on Tripoli followed weeks of stalemate. Qaddafi has told his followers to keep fighting the rebels and to resist the NATO air strikes. NATO aircraft attacked government targets across the capital yesterday including the presidential compound as well as Mitiga airport, where the rebels later drove out loyalist fighters, Al Jazeera said.
Fighting Talk
Qaddafi, in an audio statement played on Libyan state television yesterday, ordered armories opened so that citizens can help defend the city.
“We will never give up,” he said. “I am with you” in Tripoli, he said, calling on local citizens and his tribesmen to defend the city “until our last drop of blood.”
The rebel council will appoint a transitional government after moving its headquarters to the capital from Benghazi, in eastern Libya, Al-Nakou said. “Today, we start to rebuild Libya. We look forward to building a democratic country.” We will have institutions, freedom in every part of the country and in different fields of activities.”
Besides restoring order, the rebel council was prepared to quickly recover the country’s oil production for much-needed income, Akari said. Except for the refinery at Brega, damage was not major, he said.
Oil Production
“We’ve been in talks with Gaz de France, Total, BP, Eni, Qatar Petroleum as well, to help us restore oil production as soon as possible,” he said.
The Libyan revolt, which began in February, has reduced the availability of light, sweet crude, or oil with low density and sulfur content. “The immediate reaction should be that you’ll see more crude come onto the market” from Libya, said Jonathan Barratt, a managing director of Commodity Broking Services Pty in Sydney, who predicts crude in New York will average $100 a barrel this year. “There is that potential for 1 million barrels to come back online soon.”
Shares of Eni, the biggest foreign investor in Libya, Ansaldo STS SpA (STS) and Total gained as rebels advanced. Rome-based Eni jumped as much as 5.5 percent, the most in more than a year, to 13.17 euros. Eni, the biggest oil producer in Libya, was forced to virtually halt production there, leading to a 14 percent drop in second-quarter net income, and has said it could take a year to get fields back to full capacity.
Restoring Production
Other oil companies said today it may take time to restore production. “It is important that the political situation should stabilize first and the legitimate leadership be established and ministers appointed,” Ivan Gogolev, a spokesman at Gazprom International, said by phone. “Only then will we assess when we can come back, but it is understandable that we want to be back.”
Other energy shares with Libyan business also advanced with Total adding 3.1 percent. BP Plc added 2.1 percent and OMV AG of Austria added 4.2 percent. Ansaldo STS, a railway technology company, jumped as much as 7.9 percent, the largest gain in almost three years.
Arab foreign ministers, meeting tomorrow, will consider recognizing the rebel council as a “legitimate representative” of the Libyan people, Egypt’s Middle East News Agency reported, citing Arab League Secretary-General Nabil el-Arabi. Earlier, Egypt said it recognized the “new regime” in Libya, MENA said, citing Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel.
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