Libya yesterday marked the first Eid al-Fitr feast in 42 years free of Muammar Qaddafi’s yoke, as rebels declared a “right to kill” the fugitive strongman and gave his forces three days to surrender.
Diplomats, meanwhile, said the EU would lift sanctions against Libya’s ports and other economic entities, including oil firms, as about 60 nations prepared for a Paris aid conference on the war-battered country’s future administration.
Tens of thousands gathered at Tripoli’s landmark Martyrs’ Square to mark the start of the Muslim three-day holiday that follows the end of the Ramadan fasting month, kneeling in prayer as they rejoiced at Qaddafi’s fall.
Men, women and children poured from dawn into the seafront site — formerly known as Green Square — decked out in their holiday best, as women ululated in triumph and spontaneous cries of joy erupted.
“This is the best holiday of my life,” said Adel Masmoudi, who at 41 was born the year Qaddafi seized power.
An imam leading the prayer urged all Libyans to stand united and hailed the ouster of “the tyrant Qaddafi,” prompting jeers from the crowd at the mention of the strongman’s name.
With most of Libya overrun by NATO-backed rebel fighters and Qaddafi’s wife, daughter and two sons taking shelter in neighboring Algeria, the whereabouts of the 69-year-old colonel remained a mystery.
“The information I have is this: It is 80 percent certain that Qaddafi is still in Libya,” said Omar Hariri, head of the rebels’ military affairs.
He said rebels suspected he was hiding either in Bani Walid, southeast of Tripoli, or on the outskirts of the capital.
“We think he is in Libya,” Ahmed Darrad, who is charged with overseeing the interior ministry until a new government is elected, said late on Tuesday.
“It is our right to kill him,” Darrad said.
“He is killing us. He is a criminal and an outlaw. All over the world if the criminal does not surrender, it is the right of law enforcers to kill him,” he added.
Catching Qaddafi is a primary goal for the rebels although negotiations are still under way for the surrender of regime loyalists in Sirte, hometown of the strongman.
Mustafa Abdel Jalil, chief of the rebels’ National Transitional Council, said in an interview published yesterday by Egypt’s state-owned Al-Ahram newspaper he wanted Qaddafi arrested alive so he could be brought to justice.
“I believe he is in Libya, and I hope he is arrested alive so he can be brought before a fair trial for his crimes against the Libyan people,” he said.
Abdel Jalil on Tuesday gave the loyalists until Saturday to surrender or face the “final battle” of a more than six-month uprising against Qaddafi’s autocratic regime.
The rebels’ fledgling new administration received a major boost to its finances with clearance from a UN sanctions committee for Britain to release US$1.6 billion in seized regime assets to pay for emergency relief.
In Moscow, reports said that Mikhail Margelov, the envoy of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev for Africa, will attend today’s conference for “Friends of Libya” in Paris.
The conference is expected to discuss funding for Libya, as well as police training and diplomatic recognition for its new rulers.
The Paris meeting will also see talks between UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, his post-conflict planner Ian Martin and rebel chief Abdel Jalil.
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