Libya's Zimbabwe embassy flies rebel flag

2011-08-24 16:33

Harare - Libya's ambassador to Zimbabwe led his compatriots on Wednesday in burning portraits of embattled leader Muammar Gaddafi and replacing the official flag with that of the anti-Gaddafi rebellion.

"From today, August 24, we follow the Libyan majority, the Libyan people, through our National Transitional Authority," Ambassador Taher Elmagrahi told journalists outside the embassy in down town Harare, referring to the anti-Gaddafi rebel council.

"We are here representing the Libyan people and not Gaddafi. I am not Gaddafi's ambassador. I represent the Libyan people."

Embassy staff and Libyan nationals chanted freedom songs while others hooted from cars as they burned the green flag synonymous with Gaddafi's regime, cheered on by local well-wishers.

The flag flying over the embassy was switched to the red, black and green banner from independence in 1951.

The celebration came a day after rebels overran Gaddafi's Tripoli compound, raising their flag and ripping the head off his statue.

Similar flag changes have taken place at embassies in Algeria, Mexico, Morocco and other countries.