Muammar Gaddafi vows again not to surrender and says ready for long battle even if Libya burns as son pledges to continue resistance

Whoever thinks that Muammar Gaddafi might surrender, given the situation of his country which is only getting from worse to worse, is mistaken…

Indeed, the Libyan long-time ruler has taken his decision: even if Libya “burns,” he will not surrender.

LET LIBYA BURN
In a message broadcast on the 42nd anniversary of the coup which brought him to power and put out by Arabic-language Arrai Oruba television channel, Gaddafi vowed again not to surrender.

The fallen strongman said he was prepared for "a long battle" even if Libya burns. He urged his supporters to keep up their resistance to the insurgency that has conquered most of the country and forced him into hiding. "Even if you cannot hear my voice, continue the resistance," Gaddadi said, addressing who he believes are his men. "We will not surrender. We are not women and we are going to keep on fighting."

"If they want a long battle, let it be long. If Libya burns, who can govern it? So let it burn," he added in the message sent from an unknown location.

Gaddafi went on to say there were splits between NATO, "the alliance of aggression" whose warplanes have paved the way for the insurgents' advance, and the rebels, "its agents."

THE GADDAFIS ARE WELL AND GOOD
His message followed similar defiant words from his son Seif al-Islam overnight, who said he, his father and "the whole family" were still in Tripoli, which fell to the rebels on August 20 after days of fierce fighting.

Seif al-Islam vowed on Wednesday to keep on fighting against rebels, as his brother, Saadi, showed readiness to surrender.

"We would like to tell our people that we are well and good. The leader [Muammar Gaddafi] is fine”, Seif who has rapidly become his father's most visible defender, said in an audio message on the pro-Gaddafi al-Rai television station.

"I am talking to you from a suburb of Tripoli. We want to reassure the Libyan people that we are still here. The resistance continues and victory is near".
He warned the rebels against any attack on his father's hometown of Sirte, the last major center in loyalist hands.
"They're welcome if they think the battle of Sirte will be a walkover. Twenty thousand armed men are in the town and ready," to fight, he told Al-Rai.

SAADI READY TO SURRENDER
However, Gaddafi’s other son, Saadi, appeared to express a readiness to surrender as the rebels said they had arrested Gaddafi’s foreign minister, although few details were given.
He said in a TV interview that he had his father's authorization to talk to National Transitional Council (NTC) to stop the bloodshed in Libya.
"We acknowledge that they [the NTC] represent a legal party, but we are also the government and a legal negotiating party," he said.

Vice chairman of the rebel military council Mahdi al-Harati confirmed that negotiations had been opened on the surrender of Saadi.
"He is reluctant but, if he wants to surrender, his life will be safe, God willing. If there is an agreement, there will be no problems."

Earlier, Saadi Kadhafi told the Al-Arabiya channel in an audio interview that he had "no problem" with the rebels ruling Libya.

SEIF, SAADI HAVE DIFFERENT REQUESTS
For his part, NTC Spokesman, Mahmoud Shammam, told Al Jazeera channel that the two sons have very different requests.
"It seems that Saadi is not feeling safe. He is not negotiating on behalf of his father, but negotiating on behalf of his [own] life. We are talking about Saadi who is in a very bad situation."

"On the other hand, we have Saif al Islam, and he is trying to raise the morale of the people surrounding him and wants to fight."
Libyan fighters said security would be guaranteed for Saadi if he surrenders, AFP news agency reported.

GADDAFI FM CAPTURED
On the other hand, rebels said they had arrested Gaddafi’s FM, Abdelati Obeidi, from his farm in Janzour, a suburb west of Tripoli.

Al-Harati also confirmed that Obeidi was arrested.
"Yes, Abdelati al-Obeidi was arrested today," al-Harati told journalists in the capital on Wednesday, without elaborating.

Abdallah al-Hijazi, a close associate of Gaddafi, was also arrested in Tripoli, National Transitional Council sources told Reuters news agency.
The NTC said on Monday it believed its fighters had killed Gaddafi's son Khamis and his intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi in clashes. Gaddafi's wife and three of his children fled to Algeria on Monday, Algeria's government said.