Syrian TV says Muammar Gaddafi still in Libya

Gaddafi urges loyalists to keep fighting as his forces attack oil refinery; National Transitional Council says will establish gov't within 10 days.

By REUTERS, JPOST.COM STAFF
Rebels step on poster of Muammar Gaddafi (photo credit: REUTERS)
Rebels step on poster of Muammar Gaddafi
(photo credit: REUTERS)
A Syrian television station that has broadcast messages from Muammar Gaddafi in the past said on Monday the fugitive Libyan leader was still in Libya, but it was unable to air his latest message for security reasons.
"We were due today or last night to have a televised speech of the leader of fighters, but for security reasons the appearance of this televised message has been postponed," Mishan Jabouri, owner of the Arrai channel, told viewers.
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"It was meant to show the leader among his fighters and people, leading the struggle from Libyan lands, and not from Venezuela or Niger or anywhere else," he said.
He read out the text of what he said was a message from Gaddafi, quoting the ousted leader as saying: "We cannot give up Libya to colonization one more time.... There is nothing more to do except fight till victory."
Forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi attacked the front gate of an oil refinery near the Libyan coastal town of Ras Lanuf on Monday, killing 15 guards and injuring two, witnesses said.
"About 14 to 15 trucks came in from the direction of (Gaddafi-held) Sirte towards Ras Lanuf," said refinery worker Ramadan Abdel Qader, who was shot in the foot during the assault.
"We heard firing and shelling at around 9 in the morning from Gaddafi loyalists," he told Reuters.
Qader said he and his colleagues had been sleeping when the pro-Gaddafi forces attacked the refinery.
The refinery is controlled by Libya's National Transitional Council, the de facto rulers of the country after a six-month uprising ousted Gaddafi.
Libya's National Transitional Council (NTC) announced Sunday night that it would set up a new government within ten days, Israel Radio reported. The announcement followed a statement on Saturday that oil production would resume within three or four days.
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