El-Zawahiri urges Arab armies to overthrow Gaddafi

Ahram Online, Friday 15 Apr 2011


In a rare video appearance, Al-Qaeda's Ayman El-Zawahiri describes Libya's Gadaffi 'a dictator' whom Arab countries should bring down before the Western campaign turns into an invasion.

In a rare video recording, Ayman El-Zawahiri, Al-Qaeda’s number two, has urged Arab armies to intervene in Libya and help overthrow Muammar Gaddafi.

Ayman El-Zawahiri

In the one-hour-long video, aired on the US ABC network, El-Zawahiri labelled Gaddafi a "dictator" and said that Arabs should intervene before the Western aid to Tripoli becomes an invasion.

El-Zawahiri also praised the Egyptian and Tunisian Revolutions and linked their success with the toppled governments' positions towards Israel and their inability to implement sharia (Islamic jurisprudence).

This is the first video appearance of Osama Bin Laden's second-in-command for over a year. He did, however, release several audio recordings during the first days of the January 25 Revolution, in which he slammed the old regime and encouraged the protesters to continue in their revolt until it regime falls.