TRIPOLI – Libyan leader Moamar Khadafy, facing the greatest challenge to his four-decade rule, appeared briefly on television early Tuesday — with the state network saying it was a live broadcast from his Tripoli home.
“I am going to meet with the youth in Green Square,” in downtown Tripoli, Khadafy said, according to an AFP translation.
“It’s just to prove that I am in Tripoli and not in Venezuela and to deny television reports, those dogs,” he said, holding up an umbrella in pouring rain, which lashed Tripoli Monday night, while leaning out of a car.
Speculation has been rife regarding the exact whereabouts of Khadafy, with some reports suggesting he was heading to Venezuela.
According to an Al Jazeera interpretation of the 22-second appearance, Khadafy said he had intended to speak to the youth at Green Square and stay up late with them but was prevented from doing so by the weather.
Earlier, state TV reported that a pro-government crowd had converged on the square, which had initially been occupied by anti-regime protesters.
Khadafy had been tipped to address the nation in the early hours of Tuesday. It was not clear if his brief appearance was to be followed by a further speech, but this seemed ever less likely as dawn approached.
The Libyan ruler’s lengthy stranglehold on power appeared to be under pressure Monday as fighting reportedly spiraled into a “massacre” in his home base of Tripoli, where military fighter jets were said to have fired live ammunition at protesters.