Tripoli, July 25: The leader of Libyan opposition says the country’s embattled ruler Muammar Gaddafi and his family can stay in Libya if some conditions are met.
“Gaddafi can stay in Libya but it will have conditions. We will decide where he stays and who watches him. The same conditions will apply to his family,” Mustafa Abdel Jalil said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal on Sunday.
The opposition chief said the first step would be for Gaddafi to quit power.
Jalil, the chairman of the Benghazi-based Transitional National Council (TNC), was on a first visit to the western mountain city of Zintan where revolutionary forces have set up their regional headquarters.
Jalil’s offer follows France’s proposal on Wednesday which said Gaddafi could stay in Libya provided that he stepped down.
The announcement comes as there are increased efforts by both Libyan sides and the outsiders to resolve the five-month-old crisis peacefully.
The US and Italy have also urged Gaddafi to relinquish power but have left the fate of the long-time ruler to be decided by the Libyan people.
However, Jalil predicted three ways to the end of Libya conflict.
“The war will end in one of three ways. Gaddafi will surrender, he will flee Libya, or he will be killed or captured by one of his bodyguards or by rebel forces.”
The opposition leader added that the revolutionary forces in the western mountains are the nearest to Gaddafi’s stronghold of Tripoli but the fighters will continue their attacks on all fronts during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Meanwhile, Qatar has sent military trainers to the western mountains and equipped an operational command center with the latest equipment, Jalil announced.
The group of trainers were accompanying Jalil. One of them said they had arrived in the western mountains 20 days ago.
——-Agencies