Qaddafi "doesn't have the courage" for suicide
With rebel forces controlling most of Tripoli, it would appear that strongman Muammar Qaddafi's reign over Libya is pretty much over. But, as one longtime former associate of the ruler recently commented, don't expect Qaddafi to make a dramatic exit from the scene.
"I think it's impossible that he'll surrender," said Abdel-Salam Jalloud during in an interview that aired on Italian RAI state radio. He later added: "He doesn't have the courage, like Hitler, to kill himself."
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Jalloud was referencing Adolf Hitler, the Nazi leader who committed suicide in his Berlin bunker on April 30, 1945, as his dictatorship was coming to an end during World War II.
As far as his relationship with Qaddafi, Jalloud has undoubtedly an inside view: He helped Qaddafi assume power in the 1969 coup and was the Libyan ruler's deputy for two decades until a schism occurred between them in the '90s.
Reportedly, Jalloud flew out of Tunisia Saturday. His defection followed that of oil minister Omrane Boukraa and senior security official Nasser al-Mabruk Abdullah.
A rebel official said at the time that Jalloud's defection could provide information about Qaddafi's inner circle and that the former deputy could face justice for crimes that happened while he was in the regime.