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Arrest of Gaddafi’s spokesman untrue: source

02 October 2011 02:30 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. A source close to Libya’s ruling National Transitional Council (NTC) denied on Saturday reports saying that Moussa Ibrahim, spokesman of the fallen Muammar Gaddafi administration, had been arrested, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

The reports are completely untrue, and the spokesman is still at large, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The arrest was probably of one of Ibrahim’s family members, the source said.

On Thursday, the Freedom TV channel based in Misrata in northwestern Libya reported that Ibrahim had been arrested by the NTC on Wednesday night near Gaddafi’s hometown of Sirte, about 450 km east of the capital Tripoli.

The television quoted a NTC fighter as saying that Ibrahim had mixed himself into a group of local villagers who were fleeing Sirte, where prolonged fighting were going on between NTC forces and remnant Gaddafi loyalists.

On Saturday, a man claiming to be Ibrahim dismissed on Syrian- based Arrai television the reports about his capture, calling the information "a lie and does not reflect reality." But his identity could not be independently verified.

Arrai is now the sole channel that broadcasts voices of Gaddafi and members of the fallen Libyan administration.

The NTC is yet to make an official comment on the reported arrest of Ibrahim.

Mahmoud Jibril, chairman of the NTC’s executive office, said Thursday that he had heard about the news on Ibrahim’s capture, but could not confirm on that. He said he hopes it is true.