GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Two of the sons of Muammar Qadaffi are under arrest as rebels take over the city of Tripoli, in Libya Monday 22 August. But the man who led the country for more than 40 years has not yet been found and fighting rages on Monday morning around the Qadaffi compound in the city. The ICC has confirmed that Muammar Qadaffi’s son Saif Al-Islam, for whom it issued an arrest warrant 27 June, has been arrested. He is president of the Qadaffi International Charity and Development Foundation, a foundation registered under Swiss law.
Breaking news from Al Jazeera, BBC, CNN, Guardian, International Criminal Court/ICC
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Muammar Qaddafi, in an audio recording Monday 15 August, urged his countrymen to fight against Nato and the rebels who have launched a two-prong attack that could isolate Tripoli. This is the elder Qaddafi’s first live broadcast in several months.
Al Jazeera reports that fighting has been heavy. “Opposition fighters fought for control of the towns of Gharyan and Az-Zawiyah on Sunday, attempting to cut off the southern coastal route from Tunisia that Gaddafi uses for supplies,” it reports, noting that casualties have been high in some areas and that the government denies that the rebels have taken parts of key cities.
Links to other sites: Al Jazeera, Guardian, Xinhua
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – A face-to-face meeting between US government officials and representatives of Muammar Qaddafi’s Libyan regime did not constitute “talks” and there were no negotiations, according to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Tuesday 19. Rather, the US met with Qaddafi envoys to state that the US has now recognized the rebels fighting Qaddafi as the legitimate representatives of the country and to repeat the American demand that Qadaffi leave.
The meeting reportedly took place 16 July, a day after the US and several other governments meeting in Istanbul, agreed to recognize the rebels, based in the east of the country.
Links to other sites: Alarabiya, Reuters, Sky News, US State Department briefing 15 July
Britain and France are pushing harder for a no-fly zone over Libya as unconfirmed reports surface from Africa that Muammar Qaddafi is trying to negotiate a way to step down. Al Jazeera reports that attempts by the Libyan leader to negotiate with protesters have been rebuffed, while noting that Qaddafi’s state media say there have been no attempts to negotiate. The BBC reports that Nato defense ministers will debate, Tuesday 8 March, a flyover ban plan that France and the UK are drafting. The Gulf states are reportedly supporting such a plan after the Libyan government’s bombardment of its own cities this week.
Links to other sites: Al Jazeera, BBC, Reuters
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Two international organizations based in Geneva have issued urgent appeals to the captors of their employees to release them unharmed. Rebels in the Philippines, who are holding three ICRC (International Red Cross) employees, including Swiss Andreas Notter, are threatening to decapitate one of them if the army does not leave the area where they are held. Tuesday morning the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) told the kidnappers of John Solecki in Pakstan that they are entirely responsible for his health, expressing concern over the lack of news in the past two weeks.
Lake Geneva region, Switzerland (TSR, Fre) – TSR, Swiss public television, will run a documentary 5 February following its own investigation into charges by Colombian authorities that Jean-Pierre Gontard paid CHF500,000 in ransom money to Farc rebels in order to gain the release of Novartis employees taken hostage.
