Qaddafi’s Ex-Protocol Chief Says Regime to Crumble in Days

Muammar Qaddafi will fight to the end, though it’s just a “matter of days” before his regime crumbles, the Libyan leader’s former chief of protocol said in an interview on French television.

Army units in Benghazi and Tobruk have defected, allowing the opposition to control the two main cities in the east of the country, Nuri al-Mismari said on Canal+ television.

“He’ll hold on right to the end,” al-Mismari said. “He threatens to use massive force. He’s already used planes, tanks, mercenaries. What’s left? Chemical weapons?”

Qaddafi vowed in a television address yesterday to fight the rebellion until his “last drop of blood.” Qaddafi’s crackdown on the week-long demonstrations has already left almost 300 dead, according to Human Rights Watch, and driven oil prices to a 2 1/2-year high.

“He’s nervous, he’s not in good health,” Al-Mismari said. “These acts are not of someone who is lucid.”

Libya unsuccessfully sought al-Mismari’s extradition from France last November, accusing him of embezzlement when he didn’t return home after visiting France for medical treatment.