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‘Gadhafi the ghost’: Where could the Libyan leader be hiding?
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The Associated Press- Even after rebels stormed into the capital and overwhelmed his residence, Libya's Moammar Gadhafi has plenty of places to hide.
Underground, for example. The man who ruled Libya for 42 years is known to have deep bunkers under his Bab al-Aziziya compound in Tripoli, which rebel fighters seized Tuesday. Some former officials say the compound is connected by long tunnels to far-flung parts of Tripoli in a hidden network that would provide a quick escape route.
Few have seen the tunnels and it's not certain they exist. But the reported “underground city” fits in with the aura that Col. Gadhafi cultivated, a mix of subterfuge, rumour and myth that kept Libya's people guessing and his opponents confused. That aura — plus a healthy dose of brutal retaliation — helped him survive dozens of assassination attempts and would-be coups during his decades in power.
During the 6-month-old uprising against him, Col. Gadhafi often showed an almost wraithlike elusiveness, making sudden appearances in public, then vanishing.
And after rebels overran much of Tripoli early Monday, he once more became Col. Gadhafi the ghost. Many rebels were convinced he was holed up in the sprawling Bab al-Aziziya compound — one senior official, Fathi al-Baja, said there were reports Col. Gadhafi, who is almost 70, had suffered a heart attack and was bedridden in the compound.
When rebels overran it Tuesday, they found hoards of weapons, one of the golf carts Col. Gadhafi used to get around, the Bedouin tents where Col. Gadhafi held court. But no Col. Gadhafi. It is not known if he was there and escaped or if he was never there at all.
“There are so many rat holes in Tripoli. We are searching for him in the holes,” said Col. Ahmed Bani, a rebel military spokesman.
As long as Col. Gadhafi remains at large, he holds the potential to strike back. Pro-Gadhafi forces remain on Tripoli's outskirts, capable of striking at any time, rebels say. The whereabouts of two of Col. Gadhafi's sons who command elite units — Khamis and Muatassim — are equally unknown.
Two major cities also remain in the hands of Col. Gadhafi: his hometown Sirte, on the Mediterranean coast east of Tripoli, and Sebha, deep in the desert 650 kilometres south of Tripoli. Sebha is site of a significant military and air force base and, if Col. Gadhafi can reach it, would provide him the option of easy desert escape routes into neighbouring Niger and Chad.
Col. Bani said it was possible Col. Gadhafi was in Sebha, though “this is just one of the many possibilities.” Rebel officials and Sebha residents have reported clashes in the city between Gadhafi supporters and opponents since Tripoli's fall.
During the past few months of NATO airstrikes — including on targets in Tripoli — Col. Gadhafi is believed by rebels to have been in constant motion, though once again discerning fact from legend about his movements is difficult.
And Col. Gadhafi basked in the aura of mystery. “I am in a place where you can't reach me,” he said in an audio message aired on state TV weeks ago. “I live in the hearts of the millions.”
During the uprising, Col. Gadhafi surprised supporters by suddenly appearing on the ramparts of the historic Red Fort in Tripoli's main square to deliver an address to the crowd below. Some former regime insiders have said a tunnel links the fort to Bab al-Aziziya, about 3 kilometres away.
Mohammed Ganbawa, an activist who co-ordinates several opposition groups in Tripoli. He said the rebels believe that in recent weeks Col. Gadhafi moved between the homes of his sons, slept in a hospital and even in the Rixos Hotel, where international foreign media covering the conflict are staying.
Bab al-Aziziya is known to have a bunker built for Col. Gadhafi by West German engineers to withstand massive attack.
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