Monday, October 3, 2011

#Jibril Libya's Prime Minister vows to resign once #Libya is liberated from Ghaddafi.


MPACUK
Libya's Prime Minister vows to resign once  is liberated from Ghaddafi.   

Jibril vows to quit after Libya 'liberation'
Prime minister of interim government says he will step down once NTC fighters seize control of Gaddafi stronghold Sirte.
Last Modified: 03 Oct 2011 13:11
Jibril, left, has often acted as the foreign emissary for the National Transitional Council [REUTERS]
Mahmoud Jibril, the prime minister and often the foreign face of Libya's National Transitional Council, has pledged to resign from government once the country is liberated.

That moment will occur when Sirte, the contested coastal hometown of ousted leader Muammar Gaddafi, is taken by NTC fighters, Jibril said in a press conference on Monday.

Jibril's announcement came after news of a potential cabinet reshuffle began to emerge on Sunday evening.
More than a month after the fall of Tripoli, the NTC appeared to have finalised a new cabinet that reportedly aimed to be more representative and take into account the desires of Islamist factions
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Salem Joha, a military commander from Misrata, was set to take over the much-discussed office of defence minister. But on Monday, NTC Chairman Mustafa Abdul Jalil announced that the current minister, Jalal Dghaili, would maintain his position.

Dghaili is said to be well-respected by Islamists.
Other current ministers will be maintaining their positions in the new cabinet. Jibril will remain as prime minister but also assume the role of foreign minister. Ali Tarhouni will remain as oil and finance minister, and Ahmad Darrat will stay on as interior minister.

Under the terms of the NTC's draft interim constitution, no member of the NTC will be allowed to serve in Libya's elected post-revolution government. By speaking out on Monday, Jibril became the first NTC member to publicly declare he would not do so.

Rebels advance south of Sirte
As political wrangling continued in Tripoli, NTC fighters appeared to gain ground around Sirte on Monday, seizing the town of Abu Hadi, around five kilometres south of the town.
Fighting also continued on the west side of town, where NTC fighters breached a perimeter wall in an effort to reach the city centre, Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr reported.

The offensive there began in afternoon, and heavy explosiosn could be heard from the town.
Nearly three weeks into the siege of Sirte, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has said that the humanitarian situation there is grave. Citizens fleeing the town say they are running out of food and water, unable to access medical care, enduring bombardments from both NTC and loyalist fighters, and suffering intimidation from loyalists if they try to leave.

NTC fighters are unhappy with the ICRC for delivering supplies to the town rather than evacuating wounded people and searching for disappeared residents, our correspondent reported.

The fighters want the ICRC to help wounded civilians who took up arms in support of the NTC and to search for men said to be "holed up" inside a prison in town, Khodr said.

The Monday combat came despite a unilateral ceasefire declared by the NTC on Sunday in order to allow civilians to leave.

The Red Cross reached Sirte on Saturday, delivering medical kits and fuel for the main Ibn Sina Hospital. The aid team said they could not reach the hospital itself due to fighting.

NTC fighters told Al Jazeera they believe it is only a "matter of days" before they take Sirte.
Posted by Robby Ball at 8:31 AM