Exiled Libyan crown prince calls for no-fly zone

Libya’s exiled Crown Prince Mohammed El Senussi Wednesday called upon the United Nations Security Council to support a no fly zone over his homeland.

The UN and members of the Arab League have both been debating the possibility of the no-fly zone since Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi began bombing protesters in the country’s capitol city of Tripoli several weeks ago, raising international concern.

The 48-year-old is the son of Hassan El Senussi, former Crown Prince of Libya. 

Gaddafi overthrew his great-uncle King Idris and his father, the Crown Prince, in a coup in September 1969, leading to the royal family’s house arrest, attacks on the home and their  eventual emigration to the U.K. in 1988.

On 18 June 1992, Mohammed was appointed as heir by his father to succeed him in death as Crown Prince and Head of the Royal House of Libya according to the constitution of Libya.

This statement is issued by Prince Mohammed El Senussi in a personal capacity

In a letter to UN secretary general Ban-ki Moon and members of the security group of nations, comprised of both heads of government and foreign secretaries, El Senussi implored urgent intervention “to put an end to the killings being undertaken by the murderous regime of Colonel Gaddafi.”

He praised British Prime Minister David Cameron, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Lebanese President Michel Suleiman for tabling a draft UN resolution to impose a no fly zone in Libya.

He also slammed the governments of the US, China, Russia, India and Germany for being “dispassionate and uncaring towards innocent men, women and children being slaughtered indiscriminately by the Tripoli tyrant, Gaddafi.”      

The letter went on to say: “Nobody knows the scale of the human tragedy in Libya but estimates suggest up to 10,000 people may have been killed and several tens of thousands injured in the past few weeks.”

El Senussi is said to be in constant communication with countrymen across Libya and with the National Transitional Council in Benghazi, the country’s second largest city, recently overtaken by anti-Gaddafi rebels.

He has written to the UN in the capacity of acting on the rebels’ behalf, in order to “help good overcome evil and help the Libyan people in their quest for peace.”