TRIPOLI, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Libya urged its neighbours
to hand over supporters of toppled leader Muammar Gaddafi who
have fled the country, saying bilateral ties could be threatened
if they did not cooperate.
Mustafa Abdel Jalil, chairman of Libya's ruling National
Transitional Council (NTC), named no specific countries but said
Libya had spoken to Arab and African states about the matter.
"The NTC, the transitional government and the Libyan people
reached out to our neighbours to respect each other and not
intervene in our internal issues but we are sorry that they
didn't listen to us," he told a news conference.
"They are hosting the enemies of the Libyan people, those
who stole Libyan money and killed Libyans. We have evidence that
these people committed crimes," he added, without naming those
whom Libya wanted handed over.
Libya this month urged Niger to extradite Gaddafi's son
Saadi, saying his call for Libyans to prepare for a "coming
uprising" threatened bilateral ties.
Niger responded that it could not hand over Saadi, who fled
south to the West African state in September as Libyan forces
gain the upper hand over his father's forces, because he would
face execution in Libya.
But officials in Libya and Niger said Niger authorities had
placed tighter restrictions on Saadi's movements.
Gaddafi's wife Safiya, daughter Aisha and sons Mohammed and
Hannibal fled to Algeria in August.
Algiers has said it had granted them refuge on humanitarian
grounds but ordered them to stay out of politics after Aisha
angered the Libyan government last year by telling the media her
father was still fighting to hold onto power.
Gaddafi's prime minister Al Baghdadi Ali al-Mahmoudi remains
in a Tunisian jail pending a decision on his extradition to
Libya. Other officials from the Gaddafi regime are believed to
have fled Libya during last year's conflict.
"We have sent memorandums to these countries, some of them
Arab, some of them African, to hand over these people but these
states have not taken legal steps to hand over them or stop them
in their work against Libya," Abdel Jalil said.
"The Libyan people won't forgive any state which won't hand
them over. Our relationship with these states will depend on
their cooperation in this matter."
Asked whether Libya would cut relations with these countries
if they failed to cooperate, Abdel Jalil said: "The NTC and the
government have asked the Libyan foreign ministry to send envoys
to these countries to find a solution regarding this matter.
"The Libyan people will then make the right decision."
(Additional reporting by Taha Zargoun)
There are no comments yet