TRIPOLI, Libya — The Libyan government shrugged off the apparent defection of a key regime figure Thursday, saying the nation’s foreign minister was on “sick leave,” even as another official announced his resignation and rumors swirled of other departures.
State television was mum about the possible defection of Moussa Koussa, who arrived in Britain on Wednesday. A government spokesman said Koussa’s departure from the regime’s inner circle would mean little to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi’s overall battle to fend off his many domestic and international enemies.
“We are not relying on individuals to lead this struggle,” said government spokesman Musa Ibrahim. “This is the struggle of a whole nation. We have millions of people leading this struggle.”
“Mr. Moussa Koussa asked for a sick leave because he was exhausted physically and he had diabetes and high blood pressure,” Ibrahim added. “The authorities gave him the permission to leave the country to look after himself because he was in bad need of intensive medical care.”
On Thursday, Ali Abdessalam Treki, a former foreign minister who had been chosen Libya’s new U.N. ambassador, announced he was resigning the post.
The pan-Arab news channel al-Jazeera also reported without confirmation that the intelligence chief and the speaker of parliament had fled to Tunisia.
Other rumors, like the exit of the oil minister, were shot down. But taking no chances, Libyan officials posted guards to prevent any other officials from leaving the country, two former officials said.
British officials spent part of Thursday debriefing the former minister. Authorities are eager to tap into Koussa’s knowledge of the inner workings of the Gadhafi regime, including the size of his security forces, their deployment and morale.
However, Foreign Secretary William Hague said Britain would not grant Koussa immunity from prosecution should any charges be warranted.
Koussa has served in leading positions in Libyan intelligence, and there are questions surrounding any involvement he might have had in the 1988 terrorist attack on Pan Am Flight 103, which exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 270 people.
Scottish authorities said Thursday that they were seeking an interview with the former minister.
Some media reports say that Koussa was able to leave Libya for Tunisia several days ago with his family in tow, a crucial detail.
The New York Times contributed to this report.
