Tunisia not among Gaddafi's destinations
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Xinhua, August 25, 2011
Head of Libya's National Transitional Council (NTC) Mustafa Abdul Jalil denied allegations on Wednesday that Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, who is indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes, is seeking to flee to Tunisia, the official press agency TAP reported.
He said whereabouts of the Libyan leader remain unknown and that the Libyan rebels have not yet achieved their final stages. The statement came during a meeting on Wednesday in Benghazi between the NTC head and a Tunisian delegation, led by Minister of Social Affairs Mohamed Ennaceur.
Shortly before the meeting, Jalil said the handing over of the Ras El Jedir border point to the rebels has not yet taken place and that the neighboring towns of Zouara, Zelten and Boukamache were still shelled by Gaddafi forces.
He, meanwhile, highlighted the Tunisian people's role in receiving Libyan refugees, and thanked the Tunisian government for aiding the refugees, even if its "official recognition of the NTC took some time to come."
Tunisia officially recognized the NTC as the sole legitimate representative of the Libyan people on Aug. 20. On Monday, Tunisian interim Prime Minister Beji Caid Essebsi congratulated chairman of the executive office of NTC Mahmoud Jibril.
During the six-month unrest in Libya, Tunisia had provided shelter and assistance to some 100,000 Libyans nationwide, a large number of whom were hosted by Tunisian families.
