Libya: Foreign Minister Defects

By Staff writer

TRIPOLI---Libyan Foreign minister, Mousa Kousa has defected to the UK claiming he can no longer represent the Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's regime.

Kousa, believed to be one of Gaddafi’s closest allies, arrived on a chartered plane from Tunisia and said he was "no longer willing" to represent the dictator's regimes when questioned for several hours by British officials.

“We can confirm that Mousa Kousa arrived at Farnborough airport on 30 March from Tunisia," said a Foreign Office spokesman.”He travelled here under his own free will. He has told us he is resigning," he added.

His defection gives a leeway of unparalleled intelligence value to Britain in terms of understanding the situation within Gaddafi's inner circle. The move also provides a morale boost to the disorganized rebel forces who have again suffered major reverses at the hands of pro-Gaddafi forces in the past 48 hours.

The rebels have now lost the key oil port of Ras Lanuf and the nearby town of Bin Jawad, and are also in full retreat from Brega.

It is said that Britain and the US have been in regular contact with him in recent days, mainly through intelligence sources. He is seen as the key figure who persuaded Gaddafi to make a deal with British intelligence agencies to stop developing weapons of mass destruction in return for the ending of its pariah status.

A senior US administration official, speaking to AFP News agency on condition of anonymity, said: "This is a very significant defection and an indication that people around Gaddafi think the writing's on the wall."

Reports say that both sides in the Libya conflict are running short of weapons and ammunition after almost two weeks of intense fighting that has brutally exposed the military shortcomings of the rebels.

It is counted that Muammar Gaddafi's authority inside Libya has suffered a significant blow making the Libyan leader more vulnerable to be forced out of office.