HASH POWER 7113// Acreditation: Yahoo News, Associated Press
BENGHAZI, Libya – From hiding, Moammar Gadhafi denied rumors that he fled Libya, vowed "never to leave the land of his ancestors" and rallied followers to the fight in a new audio message broadcast Thursday on a loyalist TV channel.
The broadcast came amid conflicting statements about the fugitive Libyan dictator's whereabouts. Gadhafi, who ruled Libya for nearly 42 years, hasn't been seen in public for months, and has released only audio messages trying to rally his supporters and lash out at opponents.
In Thursday's five-minute-long audio, aired on Syrian-based Al-Rai TV, a voice purportedly of Gadhafi denounced reports that he had fled to neighboring Niger and claimed he is still in Libya. He also blasted former rebels who ousted him from power as "a bunch of mercenaries, thugs and traitors" and urged his follower to take up arms.