Libya could fall into extremists’ hands - Nato
LIBYA: Libya is in danger of falling into the hands of Islamic
extremists if a stable government is not rapidly established, Nato’s
secretary-general warned last night.
In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, Anders Fogh Rasmussen said
Islamic extremists would “try to exploit” any weaknesses created as the
country tried to rebuild after four decades of Col Muammar Gaddafi’s
rule.
Rasmussen was speaking amid growing evidence of splits in the rebel
leadership in Tripoli. His words will cast a damper over the euphoria
sweeping Tripoli in the wake of the revolution.
His warning came as the head of the National Transitional Council,
Mustafa Abdul Jalil, told cheering crowds in Tripoli that Islamic
shariah law would be the “main source” of legislation in the new Libya.
Jalil, who only arrived in his new capital on Saturday, made his
first public speech in Martyrs’ Square - once Col Gaddafi’s “Green
Square” - last night.
“We are a Muslim people, for a moderate Islam, and we will stay on
this road,” he said. His formulation suggested that Libya would follow
neighbours such as Egypt in allowing room for secular freedoms.
But there are already signs that the rebel leadership is split over a
variety of issues including the future role of the Islamist militias
which played a significant part in the revolution.
Mahmoud Jibril, the interim Libyan prime minister, also arrived in
Tripoli at the end of last week after complaints that he had been too
busy travelling the world to lead his own revolution.
On Sunday night he was forced to announce that his first government
reshuffle would take place in seven to ten days. AFP
|