Libya's foreign minister Mousa Kousa has 'defected' and 'crossed' over Malta to London

Kousa, known to be a close aide to Col. Gaddafi was spotted in a Djerba hotel yesterday while accompanied by a number of people, including a woman and a youth. The news was revealed worldwide by MaltaToday.

He also met with senior French diplomats in Djerba after crossing the Tunisian border. The Maltese government confirmed last night that it had not received any contact by Libya’s foreign minister Mousa Kousa, as reports trickled in on his defection.

A number of luggages were seen in one of a number of Libyan diplomatic plated cars that sped from Djerba towards the capital Tunis.

The news, tweeted by MaltaToday yesterday made the rounds of the newswires, as foreign diplomats in Tunis rushed to confirm Mousa Kousa’s presence in the country.

The high-ranking Libyan official’s presence in Tunisia was almost confirmed last night as a senior diplomat told this paper “it is almost official that Mousa Kousa has crossed into Tunisia, but we don’t know why and whether he is with his family, but the way things look it seems that he is running...”

The news circulated the corridors of the London conference on Libya yesterday with many foreign ministers attending the meeting asking for information.

Diplomats at yesterday’s London meeting were cautious in saying that Mousa Kousa has defected.

One source said: “He either defected, or is in Tunisia for health reasons, because saying that he travelled for hours by car to Tunisia for a private visit at this particular moment in time, is somehow bizarre.”

The defection of Mousa Kousa – if confirmed – is regarded as a significant blow to the Gaddafi regime, that is under tremendous pressure to go into exile.

Italy’s foreign minister Franco Frattini has also denied receiving any request from Kousa, however Italian diplomats in Tunisia were reportedly attempting to catch up with the Libyan minister in Tunisia.

Mousa Kousa is the only member within the Gaddafi regime who has not been included in the UN sanctions list, and was only included in the EU sanctions during in the third update that was only recently decided by the EU27.

Kousa, a former Libyan ambassador to London was the main contact with the US and British administration during the negotiations that secured a trial of two Libyans over the Lockerbie bombing and a US2.7 billion compensation to be paid by Libya to the victims’ families.

Kousa was in contact via telephone with UK foreign secretary William Hague and senior US officials, while French Diplomats have also personally met Kusa in a hotel in Djerba.

He left Tunisia on board a small Swiss aircraft to London, which also made contact with Malta air traffic control.

London conference on Libya

Malta has meanwhile upped its diplomatic efforts on the Libya crisis, as foreign minister Tonio Borg attended the London conference on 'post-Gaddafi' political process.

Borg – who did not meet up with Mahmoud Jibril, the special envoy for the Libya Transitional Council as was announced by the same Jibril last Sunday – stressed that he will meet with representatives from the Council when the time is opportune.

While receiving official thanks from US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for Malta’s aid to US citizen’s evacuation from Libya, Minister Tonio Borg stressed on the importance that the international community assists Malta, Italy and Greece in facing the humanitarian crisis due to the unprecedented exodus of refugees fleeing the turmoil in Libya.

Tonio Borg insisted that Malta will continue to work and contribute to the rebuilding of Libya.

British foreign secretary William Hague said that a special conference on Libya meeting today in  London is to focus on launching the country's post-Gaddafi "political process".

Meanwhile, foreign ministers and diplomats from 40 countries, who attended the London conference on Libya,  agreed to continue their allied airstrikes on Libya until leader Col. Gaddafi complies with terms of a United Nations mandate to protect civilians.
They also agreed to set up a contact group to map out Libya's future with the first meeting to take place in Qatar.

Promising to lead world efforts to help Libyans, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for an end to fighting between rebel forces and pro-government loyalists.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said world powers have prevented a massacre by using airstrikes to cripple Gaddafi’s military.

She is firm that the strikes will continue until Gaddafi complies with the U.N. dictates.
British Prime Minister David Cameron complained that forces loyal to Gaddafi are conducting "murderous attacks" on citizens in the city of Misrata.

A number of Arab states participated in the meeting, as well as representatives of the Arab League and the African Union.
Clinton met earlier in the day with Libyan opposition envoy Mahmoud Jibril.

A senior Obama administration official said Tuesday that the U.S. will send its own envoy to Libya soon to meet with rebel leaders. The official said U.S. diplomat Chris Stevens will travel to the rebel stronghold of Benghazi to establish better ties with groups seeking to oust Gaddafi. The move does not constitute formal recognition of the opposition.