Colonel Gaddafi’s supporters torched the British embassy in Libya yesterday in revenge for the apparent killing of his son and three grandchildren in a Nato missile attack.
Foreign Secretary William Hague responded last night by expelling the Libyan ambassador to London.
Italy condemned a similar ‘vile’ attack on its diplomatic HQ, while the UN announced it was pulling its officials out of Tripoli because of mob rule. Ambassador Omar Jelban has been given 24 hours to leave the UK as punishment for the destruction of the British embassy – which has been empty for some weeks.
Amid signs of growing strain in the international community over the conflict, David Cameron defended Nato’s choice of targets after three missiles slammed into a heavily-guarded Gaddafi family compound in Tripoli late on Saturday, leaving the building in ruins.
He insisted that anyone who was directing operations against civilians could be targeted under international law.
Libyan officials claimed the attack killed the youngest of the despot’s six sons, 29-year-old Ferrari-driving playboy Saif al-Arab, and three of his grandchildren.
Gaddafi and his wife, who were reputedly inside the devastated building, were said to have escaped unharmed, having left a gathering of family and friends earlier in the evening. ‘The leader himself is in good health,’ said Moussa Ibrahim, the dictator’s spokesman. ‘What we have now is the law of the jungle. This was a direct operation to assassinate the leader of this country.
‘This is not permitted by international law. It is not permitted by any moral code or principle.’
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