Footage shows 'armed Westerners' on ground in Libya

Video footage showing Westerners, possibly British, in Libya has increased speculation that forces are on the ground near the rebel-held city of Misurata.


The footage was shot near the rebel-held city of Misurata Photo: Al Jazeera


9:16AM BST 31 May 2011


The clip broadcast on al-Jazeera features a number of armed men, some wearing sunglasses and keffiyahs, or traditional Arab headscarves, who moved off when they realised they were being watched.

The group of six westerners are shown talking to rebels: five of them were armed and wearing sand-coloured clothes in addition to peaked caps, and cotton Arab scarves.

The sixth, apparently the most senior of the group, was carrying no visible weapon and wore a pink, short-sleeve shirt. He may be an intelligence officer.

The footage emerged after Britain and France said they will deploy attack helicopters over Libya to better pick out pro-Gaddafi forces, further deepening their involvement in the crisis.

Helicopters are more vulnerable to attack from the ground than high-flying warplanes.

Col Muammar Gaddafi denies attacking civilians, saying his forces were obliged to act to contain armed criminal gangs and al Qaeda militants.

He says the NATO intervention is an act of colonial aggression aimed at grabbing Libya's plentiful oil reserves.

Meanwhile Jacob Zuma, the South African president, said Gaddafi is ready to accept an African Union initiative for a cease-fire that would stop all hostilities, including Nato airstrikes in support of rebel forces.

"He is ready to implement the road map", Mr Zuma said.

Mr Zuma said Gaddafi insists that "all Libyans be given a chance to talk among themselves" to determine the country's future. He did not say Gaddafi is ready to step down, which is the central demand of the rebels.

In April, Mr Zuma led a delegation of the African Union to Tripoli with an AU proposal for a truce. Gaddafi said he would accept the truce but quickly ignored it and resumed his attacks, while the rebels rejected the cease-fire out of hand because it did not include Gaddafi's exit from power. Since then many cease-fire efforts have failed for similar reasons.

In Benghazi, the de facto rebel capital, Fathi Baja, the rebel foreign minister, rejected the African Union plan. "We refuse completely, we don't consider it a political initiative, it is only some stuff that Gadhafi wants to announce to stay in power," he said.

He said he believes Mr Zuma is in Tripoli to negotiate an exit strategy for Gaddafi, though Zuma's office denies that. Baja also said the rebels would launch an offensive against Gaddafi soon.

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