Libya National Transitional Council set to move to Tripoli

TRIPOLI, Sept 3, (agencies): Libya's interim authorities are set to move to Tripoli from their stronghold of Benghazi, officials say. Mustafa Abdul Jalil, leader of the National Transitional Council (NTC), told his supporters they would move within the next week. The authorities have urged groups of anti-Gaddafi gunmen patrolling Tripoli to go home, as they try to restore normality in the capital. In other parts of the country Gaddafi loyalists are continuing to fight. Anti-Gaddafi forces are slowly advancing on Col Muammar Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte, after they gave loyalists there until 10 September to surrender. They are also tackling pockets of resistance in two smaller places - Bani Walid and Sabha. Col Gaddafi's whereabouts are still unknown, with rumours saying he could be in any of the three places still loyal to him. Meanwhile: UN chief Ban Ki-moon said the world body stood ready to assist in re-establishing security after the nearly seven-month uprising that ousted Gaddafi as Western governments that backed the rebels faced embarrassing questions about their previous complicity with his regime. There was still no firm word on the whereabouts of the toppled strongman after he defiantly threatened to lead a protracted insurgency in audio tapes aired by Arab media Thursday. The victorious rebels extended until next weekend an ultimatum for the surrender of his remaining loyalists. Darrad said that rebel fighters from the provinces who were instrumental in ousting Gaddafi from the capital had orders to return home in a move aimed at defusing potential tensions with Tripoli residents who endured the ravages of the regime in its dying days. The head of the rebels' provisional government, the National Transitional Council, told dignitaries in Libya's second city of Benghazi, where the uprising, began that it would transfer its headquarters to the capital in the coming days as it moved to return the North African nation to normality. For the first eight months the NTC would lead Libya, during which a council of about 200 people would be directly elected, Gamaty said, referring to plans drawn up in March and refined last month. Within a year of the council being installed, parliamentary and presidential elections would be held. Documents seized from the homes and offices of Kadhafi officials threw an embarrassing light on the extent of cooperation between Western intelligence agencies and the regime's security services over the past decade as London and Washington wooed Tripoli in their wars against Al-Qaeda and nuclear proliferation. Libya's new rulers are trying to turn around the state-controlled media that prevailed under the regime of strongman Muamar Gaddafi into a credible vehicle to spread the news. Meanwhile: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Saturday said Russia had invited members of Libya's transitional government to Moscow for energy talks, the Interfax news agency reported. "They suggested holding meetings. We invited representatives to Moscow on their request. We will discuss all this with them," Lavrov was quoted as telling journalists at a regional summit in Dushanbe. Meanwhile: A special envoy for the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon arrived in Tripoli on Saturday, as the international body stepped up efforts to put Libya on a path towards democracy. Ian Martin landed at a military airport in the capital, as Ban said the world body was ready to assist in re-establishing security after the nearly seven-month uprising that ousted Gaddafi. Meanwhile: The Turkish ambassador to Libya Saturday called on Gaddafi and his family to surrender and promised every possible assistance to the north African nation in its transition to democracy. "We expect the Gaddafi family to surrender themselves to Libyan justice... There is no other option for them," said Ali Kemal Aydin, the first ambassador to return to Tripoli since c's ouster, adding that it was vital to avoid further bloodshed. He said Turkey would not act as a mediator between the National Transitional Council and the Gaddafi family. "All along we told Gaddafi and his family that they should transfer their power to the Libyan people. Unfortunately, they didn't heed our advice," he said. The ambassador said he had arrived in the capital Friday with a team of 25 diplomats and announced the resumption of all operations at the embassy, which closed its doors in early May. "I am very happy to start my responsibilities as Turkish ambassador in the new, democratic Libya," he said. He said Turkey would do all it could to support the Libyan people and government through the transition. On July 6, Turkey opened a $200 million credit line for the NTC. The ambassador said that $100 million had already been transferred in cash and that the remainder had been earmarked for the provision of food, fuel and medicines.