Tripoli: Libya could fall into civil war and even new Western ‘colonization’ in case President Qaddafi’s 40-year-long rule threw off, warns Sayf Gaddafi, the president’s heir-apparent son, in his TV address to the nation on Monday.
His comments came in a lengthy TV address to the nation broadcast as anti-government protests spread to the capital Tripoli.
He, despite criticising protesters, also held out the promise of significant political reforms.
He admitted that the police and army had made “mistakes”, but said the death toll was far lower than reported.
He said opposition groups and outsiders were trying to transform Libya into a group of small states. If they succeeded, he said, foreign investment would stop and living standards would drop drastically.
Sayf Gaddafi also criticised the foreign media for what he termed their exaggeration of the extent of the violence in Libya.
Earlier unconfirmed reports said Colonel Gaddafi had fled Libya, but his son told state TV viewers that his father remained in Libya “leading the battle”.
As day broke over Tripoli on Monday, the central area appeared quiet, although sporadic bursts of gunfire could still be heard.
On Sunday evening, witnesses spoke of tear gas and live ammunition being used against protesters by the security forces.
Unconfirmed reports that African mercenaries were being deployed against protesters again surfaced, as they have in Benghazi.
In the hours before Sayf Gaddafi’s speech was broadcast, crowds in Tripoli could be heard chanting slogans calling for the toppling of the regime.
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