- AP2011A picture of Libya's ousted leader Muammar Qaddafi is seen in the ashes in downtown Sirte, Libya, Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2011.
BENGHAZI, Libya – Mutassim
Qaddafi has been captured on the outskirts of Qaddafi's hometown of
Sirte, the National Transitional Council (NTC) said Wednesday.
Mutassim is the ousted Libyan leader's fifth son, who served as National Security Adviser of Libya in Qaddafi's regime.
Forces also claim the city is now under the control of revolutionary fighters, but NTC has not officially confirmed.
Libya's de facto leader said Wednesday he is
optimistic the ex-rebels will declare total victory over forces loyal
to Muammar Qaddafi in less than a week, opening the way for a new
transitional government to be formed within a month.
Despite heavy resistance, revolutionary
forces are closing in on Qaddafi's forces in the ousted dictator's
hometown of Sirte, the most important of two major cities yet to be
cleared of armed supporters of the old regime.
"I hope that liberation will be declared in
less than a week, after we free Sirte, and within less than a month we
will form a transitional government and the youth and women will have a
role in that," said Mustafa Abdul-Jalil.
Libya's new rulers have promised to declare
victory after Sirte is captured and to name a new government that will
guide the oil-rich North African nation to elections within eight
months.
Ousted leader Qaddafi is still on the run
and his supporters also hold the desert enclave of Bani Walid. But the
new leaders say Sirte's capture will give them full control of the
country's ports and harbors, allowing them to move forward with efforts
to restore normalcy and establish a democracy.
Abdul-Jalil made his assertion at a joint
news conference with Tunisian Prime Minister Caid Essebsi, who is
visiting the eastern city of Benghazi to restore the two countries'
once-lucrative trade ties.
Essebsi met with Abdul-Jalil and other
Libyan officials during his one-day visit, his first trip since Qaddafi
was forced into hiding as Tripoli fell to revolutionary forces in late
August.
Before Libya's uprising against Qaddafi broke out in mid-February, Libya and Tunisia had close ties, with some $2 billion in trade and tens of thousands of Tunisians working in Libya.
Before Libya's uprising against Qaddafi broke out in mid-February, Libya and Tunisia had close ties, with some $2 billion in trade and tens of thousands of Tunisians working in Libya.
During the civil war that ensued, Tunisia
hosted close to a million refugees from Libya, including tens of
thousands of Libyan citizens, many of whom were housed by Tunisian
families.
In recognition of that, Libyan officials
have said Tunisian workers will be given priority for any reconstruction
projects -- a boon to the nation of 10 million that has at least
700,000 unemployed.
Security issues also were on the agenda, as
the two countries share a long, poorly patrolled desert border. There
are urgent concerns about weapons from plundered Libyan government
warehouses ending up in the hands of desert smugglers and Islamic
militants.
Tunisia has already reported several clashes in its southern desert regions with gunmen in four-wheel drive vehicles.
Libyan interim Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril was in Tunis in September to coordinate the two countries' security policies.
Several world leaders and dignitaries have
traveled to the oil-rich North African nation as the international
community rallies around the new rulers. NATO also has promised to
continue its mission until Qaddafi forces no longer pose a threat to
civilians.
Spain, however, announced Wednesday that it
is bringing back the four F-18 fighter jets it sent to Libya to help
enforce its no-fly zone because the governing National Transitional
Council controls most of the country's airspace.
She said they will be kept on call and Spain
will continue to contribute to the NATO mission with two aerial
refueling planes. It also will maintain a frigate and a coast guard
surveillance plane to enforce the arms embargo against Libya, but will
withdraw its submarine.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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