20/08/2011 12:12
Former Gaddafi number two defects to rebels
Muammar Gaddafi's former right-hand man, Abdel Salam Jalloud, has defected to rebel-held territory in Libya's Western Mountains.
Jalloud was a member of the junta that staged a 1969 coup bringing Gaddafi to power, and was seen as the North African oil producer state's second in command before falling out of Gaddafi's favour in the 1990s.
The former prime minister declared he would support the uprising against the dictator.
Jalloud is due to make a public statement denouncing Gaddafi in Benghazi, the rebel capital on Saturday.
He was prime minister from 1972 to 1977, rbc.ru reported.