Libya’s diplomat no longer answers to Gadhafi

Mr. Dabbashi and most of the rest of the mission denounced Col. Gadhafi shortly after he called for protests to be put down by force. Libya’s ambassadors to the U.S., Portugal, France and Sweden also were among the first diplomats to defect.

Mr. Dabbashi, a career diplomat, said he didn’t have strong personal ties to Col. Gadhafi so it wasn’t hard for him to side with the opposition.

But Mr. Shalgham, who had long admired Col. Gadhafi as a revolutionary from his native southern Libya, at first refused to disavow the man he called “my friend,” rejecting reports that government forces were firing on protesters.

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