Libya's former number 2 urges tribe to disown Qadhafi

DUBAI: Libya's defected former number two Abdessalam Jalloud has urged the tribe of strongman Moamer Qadhafi to disown the embattled "tyrant", in a statement aired Sunday on Al-Jazeera news channel.

"You are an honourable tribe... You should preserve your history and honour," said Jalloud, who fled on Saturday to Italy via Tunisia, addressing the Gaddadfa tribe.

"Disown this tyrant because he will go and you will end up inheriting his legacy," he added.

"The noose has tightened around him. If he is in Tripoli, it will be difficult for him to leave because all routes are controlled by the rebels," he said.

Jalloud, who was a former prime minister ostracised from Qadhafi's regime, also urged the residents of Tripoli to join the revolt, as rebels closed in on the capital.

"The people of Tripoli, who account for a quarter of Libya's inhabitants, should rise massively. It is time to act... overcome fear," he said in the video message. Al-Jazeera did not reveal where it was recorded.

Jalloud and his family had taken a Maltese plane early Saturday morning from the Tunisian island of Djerba to Italy, according to an airport official.

Another source in Tunisia said Qadhafi's former close aide arrived in the southern Tunisian town of Remada overnight Friday.

Libya's state-run JANA news agency downplayed Jalloud's escape, saying he had remained out of politics for some time.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011