Libyan authorities this week dispatched the country's most renowned Islamist militia leader to meet senior figures of the Free Syrian Army, The Daily Telegraph has learned.
Abdulhakim Belhadj, head of the Tripoli Military Council and the former leader
of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, "met with Free Syrian Army
leaders in Istanbul and on the border with Turkey," said a military
official working with Mr Belhadj. "Mustafa Abdul Jalil (the interim
Libyan president) sent him there."
The "covert operation" was immediately laid bare when a rival Libyan
rebel brigade detained Belhaj at Tripoli airport, accused him of travelling
on a fake passport, and declared they would jail the senior military leader.
Only a letter from the country's interim president was enough to persuade them
to let him leave the country.
The meetings came as a sign of a growing ties between Libya's fledgling
government and the Syrian opposition. The Daily Telegraph on Saturday
revealed that the new Libyan authorities had offered money and weapons to
the growing insurgency against Bashar al-Assad.
Mr Belhaj also discussed sending Libyan fighters to train troops, the source
said. Having ousted one dictator, triumphant young men, still filled with
revolutionary fervour, are keen to topple the next. The commanders of armed
gangs still roaming Tripoli's streets said yesterday that "hundreds"
of fighters wanted to wage war against the Assad regime.
"Everyone wants to go. We have liberated our country, now we should help
others," said the commander of the 'Fighting Village' brigade, "This
is freedom. This is Arab unity". Increasing volumes of video footage have been uploaded to YouTube of Syrians calling on Libyans to join their fight. In a clip backed by dramatic musical effects, a veiled Syrian woman entreats men from Misurata, the west Libyan city that fought off a month-long siege by forces loyal to Col Muammar Gaddafi, to come to save her country.
"We cannot say no to a woman," said Misurata rebel Lutfy el-Amin. "Many men are readying themselves. If they can they will go to join the fight".
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8919057/Leading-Libyan-Islamist-met-Free-Syrian-Army-opposition-group.html
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