Kadhafi era over - Libya rebel chief

Libyan rebel chief Mustafa Abdel Jalil on Monday hailed the end of the four-decade “Kadhafi era,” after his fighters took control of most of Tripoli.

But Abdel Jalil also warned that he could quit as head of the rebel National Transitional Council (NTC) if he loses control of the revolution, amid possible revenge acts by insurgents. “The Kadhafi era is over,” he told a news conference in Benghazi, eastern Libya, referring to Libya’s veteran leader Moamer Kadhafi.

Abdel Jalil said he hoped Kadhafi, who faces an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court, would be “captured alive so that he will be given a fair trial.”

He congratulated the Libyan people “for this historic victory” and thanked NATO for its military support, while cautioning that “the real moment of victory is when Kadhafi is captured.”

He acknowledged the whole of Tripoli was not under rebel control and that Kadhafi’s whereabouts remained a mystery.

Abdel Jalil, a former justice minister who chairs the NTC, also called upon “our revolutionaries to respect the law and to let justice take its course,” rather than to let rip with revenge attacks.

“I hail the leaders of these groups and I trust their words but some actions of some of their followers worry me. This might be the reason or the cause of my resignation,” he said. AFP