Moussa Koussa, the Libyan foreign minister, has defected to the United Kingdom, the British foreign ministry has said. The ministry said in a statement that Koussa had arrived at Farnborough Airport, in the south of England, on a flight from Tunisia on Wednesday."He travelled here under his own free will. He has told us that he is resigning his post. We are discussing this with him and we will release further details in due course," the statement said.
"We encourage those around Gaddafi to abandon him and embrace a better future for Libya that allows political transition and real reform that meets the aspirations of the Libyan people."- It added that Koussa was one of the most senior officials in Gaddafi's government with a role to represent it internationally, which is "something that he is no longer willing to do".
Tunisia's TAP news agency said on Monday that Koussa had crossed over into Tunisia from Libya. A government spokesman in the Libyan capital Tripoli had earlier denied speculation that he had defected.- "He is on a diplomatic mission," Mussa Ibrahim, the spokesman, said. He gave no further details.
- Earlier on Wednesday, the British government announced the expulsion of Libya's military attache and four other diplomats in protest and for intimidating opposition groups in London.
A government source quoted by Reuters said the diplomats, believed to be supporters of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, have been given seven days to leave.William Hague, the British foreign minister, told legislators the move was to "underline our grave concern at the regime's behaviour".
Source: Al Jazeera
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