Qaddafi cousin urges rebels to unite to avoid bloodshed, nixes foreign help

A close cousin of Muammar Qaddafi urged Libyans on Wednesday to heed the rebel leadership’s call to unite, respect the law and avoid bloodshed.

Ahmed Qaddaf al-Dam’s call, in an interview with Al Arabiya from Cairo, could speed up the unification of Libyan tribes after rebels swept through the capital Tripoli and seized Qaddafi’s Bab al-Aziziya compound.

He said that the Libyans want a new democratic state, pointing out that he has taken an unbiased stand since the beginning by distancing himself from both the regime and the opposition.

“If I was loyal to the regime, I would have stayed in Tripoli and never came to Cairo,” he said.

“From Cairo I call on the people of Libya...to listen to what my brother (Mustafa) Abdel Jalil had said,” Qaddaf al-Dam said. “The military, civilians and sheikhs must listen to Abdel Jalil’s call to sit down together and avoid more bloodshed.”

Abdel Jalil, the head of the rebel council, urged his fighters on Monday to respect the law and not take revenge on members of Qaddafi’s government.

Qaddaf al-Dam stressed that Libyans do not want any interference in their affairs.

Born in Egypt to a Libyan father and an Egyptian mother, Qaddaf al-Dam bears a strong resemblance to the Libyan leader and has acted as a mediator between Cairo and the Libyan government. After the outbreak of the rebellion in February, he said he had abandoned his role, positioning himself as a neutral observer.