Libyan rebels doubt Gaddafi's son is dead
"Gaddafi has said Seif is dead... so where is the body? Show us the body," said Alaa al-Obeidi, a producer for the Qatar-based opposition channel Libya al-Ahrar.
- ABC/AFP
Libyan rebel fighters sent off volleys of celebratory fire after reports that a son of Libyan strongman Moamar Gaddafi had been killed in a NATO airstrike, but doubts about the truth of the report have quickly crept in, quelling the joyful mood.
Government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim says Mr Gaddafi's youngest son, 29-year-old Saif al Arab Gaddafi, was killed along with three of Mr Gaddafi's grandchildren.
He said the Libyan leader and his wife were in the building but were not harmed, and called the strike "a direct operation to assassinate the leader of this country".
But in the rebel capital Benghazi, where a parallel government is gearing up to take the reins should Mr Gaddafi be ousted or killed, it is suspected that news of death is nothing more than propaganda from the Tripoli regime.
"
I don't believe it because it is all on the Libya channels and that is all lies," said Mohammed Dahash, 25, who works in a mobile phone shop.
"I don't think it is true because since February 17 everything Gaddafi has said has been lies," said salesman Ahmed Sidan, 20, evoking the start date of the anti-regime demonstrations that escalated into violent conflict.
"
He did it before: in 1986 he said his daughter was killed but she is still alive," Mr Sidan said of Mr Gaddafi's claim that his adopted child, Hanna, was killed in an air raid ordered by then-US president Ronald Reagan.
"
Gaddafi always lies," said Alsharifa Warfali, 48, a mother of seven.
"
But if Seif is dead, so what? We've lost hundreds of sons in Benghazi. Gaddafi's son is not extra special."
NATO has not confirmed the deaths, but it did confirm it struck a key military installation in the area at that time.
Russia has criticised the airstrike, saying NATO is going beyond the mandate of the United Nations resolution authorising all measures to protect civilians.
British prime minister David Cameron says the strike was in line with the resolution.
"I wouldn't comment on an unconfirmed report. But what I would say is this, that the targeting policy of NATO is absolutely... in line with UN Resolution 1973 and it is about preventing a loss of civilian life by targeting Gaddafi's war making machine," he said.
Lack of material evidence to support the report, which was aired on state-controlled channels also fed mistrust among opposition media professionals.
"Gaddafi has said Seif is dead... so where is the body? Show us the body," said Alaa al-Obeidi, a producer for the Qatar-based opposition channel Libya al-Ahrar.
"
Personally, I don't think he is dead. He will get new IDs and passports to leave the country and go live in Africa, probably Uganda, which has good ties with Gaddafi."
"Gaddafi is trying to milk NATO air strikes on military facilities to say they are trying to assassinate him," said Jalal al-Gallal, who serves on the media committee of the Benghazi-based Transitional National Council.
"
But the truth is, the news cannot verified. There is no evidence, it is all hearsay."
The missile strike came hours after Mr Gaddafi had again offered to cease fire, but refused to surrender power.
- ABC/AFP