Libya could fall into hands of extremists, Nato warns
Libya could be in danger of falling into the hands of Islamic extremists if a stable government is not rapidly established, the Nato secretary-general has warned.
In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Islamic extremists would “try to exploit” any weaknesses as the country tried to rebuild after four decades of Col Muammar Gaddafi’s rule.Mahmoud Jibril, the interim Libyan prime minister, arrived in Tripoli only at the end of last week after complaints that he had been too busy travelling the world to lead his own revolution.
Asked if Nato was worried that a delay in setting up a fully fledged replacement government increased the risk of extremists taking control, Mr Rasmussen said: “We cannot exclude the possibility that extremists will try to exploit a situation and take advantage of a power vacuum.”
While he said Nato was not actively targeting Gaddafi, Mr Rasmussen admitted things could “move very fast” if he was removed. “I think that he still inspires resistance in some pockets of Gaddafi loyalists.
“I do believe we are in the very final phase of our operation. But there’s still a threat to the civilian population and as long as that exists we will continue our operation.”
He was speaking as the US State Department confirmed that Gaddafi’s son Saddi had fled to Niger on Sunday and that the authorities there were intending to detain him. However, Niger said it was keeping him under surveillance and has not detained him.
“Nothing has changed in the government’s position. There is no international search for him. Like the others he is just under surveillance,” a government spokesman said, referring to other members of Gaddadfi’s inner circle who had recently fled to Niger.
In the battle for Libya, Gaddafi’s loyalist forces stepped up a fightback on three fronts, raising the prospect of a long-running guerrilla campaign of hit-and-run attacks…