Supporters of Libya’s leader Muammar Gaddafi take part in a rally in the town of Al-Ajaylat July 14 2011
By Simon Denyer, Published: September 8
AJAYLAT, Libya — Sitting on a carpet under the shade of a tree, the men say they know where Moammar Gaddafi is today — and where he will always be.
“He is in our hearts,” they say, almost in unison, tapping their chests with their right hands.
“This is not a peaceful revolution,” said Khalifa Omar Musbah, 61, a farmer who said his two sons were killed when they refused to give up their weapons. “A revolution should be peaceful and bring a better system of government, not just guns.”
The rebels’ problems in winning over the people of Ajaylat are a microcosm of the even larger problems they are likely to face as they prepare to move into the Gaddafi strongholds of Sirte, Bani Walid and Jufra, which lie to the east of Tripoli.
On Thursday, Gaddafi loyalists in Bani Walid fired at least 10 rockets toward rebel lines. Rebels who have converged on Bani Walid say several key Gaddafi loyalists, possibly including one or two of his sons, are being sheltered there.
Another message from Gaddafi
Meanwhile, the former Libyan leader issued another defiant audio message to a Syrian television channel, vowing to remain in Libya to fight on, calling his opponents “mercenaries, thugs and traitors” and dismissing reports that he was fleeing toward neighboring African states.
“We are ready to start the fight in Tripoli and everywhere else and rise up against them,” Gaddafi said in the message. “All of these germs, rats and scumbags — they are not Libyans. Ask anyone. They have cooperated with NATO.”
