A hunted Muammar Qaddafi called on his remaining loyalists on Thursday to keep fighting, as the country’s acting prime minister appealed from the capital for national unity to rebuild the North African nation after six months of civil war.
Speaking to reporters in Tripoli on Thursday, Libyan acting Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril called the negotiations an opportunity to avoid further bloodshed, but said his forces would respond if attacked.
“The right to self-defense will remain a right even before this issue concludes,” he said.
Jibril also criticized the town’s leaders, saying they had shown “no real initiatives or intentions to give peace a chance and bring unity back to the Libya people.”
In Tripoli, Jibril said that a new government can be formed only after the whole country is “liberated.”
“I hope that we as Libyans, just as we fought to free the land and its people, will be able to join hands to fight the battle to rebuild,” he said.
Thursday’s appearance was Jibril’s first since rebel forces stormed the capital on Aug. 21. Since then, Libya’s new leaders have been scrambling to establish an interim administration to run the country’s affairs until a new constitution can be written and elections can be held.
Many high-level leaders in the National Transitional Council, including its head, have yet to move to the capital. Jibril said the delay was for security reasons.
“Don’t forget that many elements of the regime and pockets of the regime are still present,” he said. “And it is our right as Libyans to protect the leaders of this revolution.”
Qaddafi, his son Seif al-Islam and his intelligence chief are wanted by the International Criminal Court in The Hague, the Netherlands, on charges of crimes against humanity for the crackdown on dissent that began in February.
The court has no police force and its chief prosecutor asked on Thursday for Interpol to help in arresting the men by issuing “red notices.” The notices allow warrants to be circulated worldwide with a request that the wanted suspect be arrested.
Jibril refused to discuss Qaddafi’s whereabouts or to send a message to the ousted ruler.
“My message is only to the Libyans because they are more important to me, they are the future and they will build the country,” he said. “I won’t talk about things of the past.”
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