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Nigeria recognizes
Libya’s Rebel
NTC
Newsdiaryonline Tue Aug
23,2011
Nigeria has recognized
the rebel National
Transition Council NTC as the legitimate authority in Libya.This
announcement was made in Abuja today
by the federal government in Abuja on Tuesday.
The recognition
amidst reports that
rebel forces had taken control of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s
erstwhile stronghold in Tripoli known as bab al-aziziya.The
surprise entry of rebel forces into Tripoli on
Sunday changed the tempo
of the war and hastened
Gaddafi’s vice grip on Tripoli.Though pro Gaddafi forces fought
back , their efforts were not enough to stop the rebel’s further
advance.
But the reappearance of Saif Al Isalam,
one of Gaddafi’s sons initially thought to have been
captured by the rebels almost turned into a public relations
disaster but a US official dismissed the Saif al Islam
drama as a likely ‘fog
of war’.
Nigeria’s recognition may come as a radical
departure from past practices where African countries often
looked unpertubed in the face of transition crisis in fellow
neighbouring countries.
Gaddafi caused a stir not long ago when he suggested that
Nigeria should split into a Christian South and Muslim North
much to the chagrin of Nigerian elite who accused him of
ignorance about the Nigerian reality.
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