Libya capture Gaddafi's former spokesman

Libyan government forces have captured Muammar Gaddafi’s ex-spokesman outside a besieged town, the prime minister’s office said today as Libyans marked the anniversary of the ousted dictator’s death.

The urbane, English-speaking Moussa Ibrahim, who became the international face of the regime in its final months, was captured as he was trying to flee Bani Walid.

The town has been the site of fierce fighting between pro-government forces and fighters holed up in the long-time Gaddafi stronghold.

Violence has flared periodically over the last year in Bani Walid, the most significant town in Libya still resisting the country’s new authorities since the end of the country’s civil war last year.

Mr Ibrahim was the most well-known former regime figure to remain unaccounted for after Gaddafi was captured and killed by rebels as his hometown of Sirte was falling on October 20, 2011, following an eight-month civil war.

“He is now being transported to Tripoli so that the investigation by relevant authorities can begin,” the statement from the prime minister’s office said.

The statement added that he was captured at one of the checkpoints outside Bani Walid, where fighting has raged for the past four days as government forces seek to retake the town.

A Facebook page purporting to belong to Mr Ibrahim denied the capture, saying it was an effort to divert attention away from the “atrocities” being committed by the Libyan forces besieging Bani Walid. The site and statement could not be independently confirmed.