Libyan defector Koussa flying to Qatar

Moussa Koussa, the former Libyan foreign minister who defected to Britain almost two weeks ago, has flown to Qatar, according to the UK Foreign Office.

A British government spokesman said Koussa will meet with officials of the Qatari government and as well as Libyan rebel representatives in the capital city of Doha.

It is not clear if Koussa is going to Qatar under the auspices of the British government. A UK spokesman said the Libyan is a free individual, who can travel to and from the UK as he wishes.

The Associated Press reported that Koussa was asked to attend a conference on Libya being held in Doha as a “valuable Gaddafi insider,” citing an unnamed UK official.

The Guardian reported that Koussa may be mediating between Libyan rebel forces and other defectors of the Gaddafi regime in order to broker some kind of truce between the warring factions.

Koussa has been staying at an undisclosed location in Britain, reportedly providing information to UK government officials about the situation in Libya.

AP also said that agents of MI6 (Britain’s intelligence network) have finished with their interrogation of Koussa last week.

The Guardian also reported that Koussa was questioned by Scottish police over the Lockerbie bombing of 1988 which killed more than 270 people.

AP indicated that Koussa, who might have faced criminal prosecution in the UK for his alleged involvement in the Lockerbie bombing as well as arming the Irish Republican Army has cleared most of the legal hurdles in the U.K regarding those subjects.

William Hague, the UK foreign secretary, had asserted that Koussa would not be given immunity from prosecution.

Koussa recently made his first public statement in Britain when he warned BBC that an extended civil war in Libya could turn that country into a “new Somalia” (i.e., a land of chaos and anarchy)