Gaddafi to sue over health claims

The Libyan leader, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, has said he will sue a Palestinian news agency for making false claims about his health.

The news report on Monday quoted an unnamed European source, saying that Col Gaddafi was in a coma in a hospital in the coastal town of Benghazi.

Speaking to journalists in Tripoli, he appeared well and blamed members of the Arab world for the error.

The news agency has apologised for the mistake, blaming an unreliable source.

"The Arabs and those who control them are behind this, but we are going to sue this news agency - from now on, no-one will lie and get away with it"
Col Muammar Gaddafi

The Libyan leader looked well and far from being in a coma as he stepped out for cameras outside a banqueting hall in a hotel where he hosted the Ghanaian President, John Kufuor.

The media was clearly invited to dispel earlier reports alleging that Col Gaddafi was in a coma after suffering from a blood clot in his brain.

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The Libyan leader was visibly annoyed with the false claims as he pointed the finger at the Arab world and demanded legal justice.

"The Arabs and those who control them are behind this. But we are going to sue this news agency. From now on, no-one will lie and get away with it. They should face justice.

"We should fire at those who fire at us and we should consider ourselves the enemy of those who say they are our enemy," he said.

Tense relationship

In the 1990s, Col Gaddafi was dismayed that the Arab world had abandoned Libya when international sanctions were imposed on the country and repeatedly declared that he has divorced the Arabs.

In the past few years, he has had a tense relationship with some Arab states, particularly Saudi Arabia.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas reportedly called the Libyan leader and spoke to him.

This was followed by a report from the Palestinian agency in which it apologised for the confusion that their claims about his health had caused, citing an unreliable source as their mistake.

It remains to be seen whether this latest apology will bear any weight on the Libyan leader's decision to legally pursue them.