Fallen leader’s desert retreat no longer a haven

Reuters/Abu Grein, Libya

Rebels stand next to a bed at Muammar Gaddafi’s farmhouse near the town of Abu Grein yesterday

Muammar Gaddafi’s desert retreat, where he sought solitude or came to hunt, has been taken over by opposition fighters who show scant respect for the fallen leader’s haven of tranquility. The sprawling complex of houses, tennis courts, pools and pasture at Abu Grein lies near the frontline about 100km west of Gaddafi’s birthplace and tribal bastion of Sirte, on the Mediterranean coast. Inside the main house, surrounded by luxurious furniture and fancy home appliances, rebels danced about the empty rooms. A few jumped on what they took to be Gaddafi’s bed in what was clearly the master bedroom. Salim Abushala, 24 and clutching his Kalashnikov rifle, said: “It’s a great feeling. This is our victory. We won. Gaddafi is not here any more, even in spirit. “He is not a god. We won.”   The fighters, who said they seized the ranch about a week ago, have dug in and are preparing for what may be a final showdown with Gaddafi loyalists in the coming days. In the lull before the expected storm, Gaddafi’s lodge has become an object of curiosity. One group of fighters drove in to inspect it shouting “God is greatest” as they swept up the drive. Lying low in the desert, the complex features several accommodation blocks for Gaddafi’s family, friends and staff. Camels, horses, cows and sheep could graze outside. “He used to come here to relax, to hunt, when he wanted to be alone,” said a commander of the anti-Gaddafi fighters, Salim Sabti. “Gaddafi was a desert man.” Inside the house there were some bullet holes and broken glass, but otherwise the rooms and their contents were intact. In the main bedroom the giant bed was covered in crumpled linen and towels were scattered in the bathroom. Otherwise it had a deserted feel to it. There were no personal belongings. Walls and fences enclose several square kilometres, creating a hunting park for game. Some fighters were taking advantage of a lull in the battle to try to shoot camels and deer for a meal. Away from the main housing, a group of herdsmen brought in, they said, from neighbouring Chad were still tending to their flocks of sheep and Gaddafi’s cattle, seemingly oblivious to the revolution that has toppled their employer. “Six of us were brought here a year ago but we don’t know anything. We live here in the desert,” 21-year-old shepherd Adam Ali Beshara said, when asked what he thought of the dramatic changes in Libya this past week. “Gaddafi is the leader of this country,” he said. “That’s what we thought. We didn’t know about the revolution. “You brought us the news.”