/ 26 January 1999

LIBYANS HARASS ABU NIDAL

A HARDLINE Palestinian guerrilla group accused Libya on Monday of arresting members of the organisation and confiscating funds. Atef Zaki, a spokesperson in Lebanon for the Fatah Revolutionary Council of Abu Nidal, said members were arrested in August 1998 and funds of an unspecified amount seized. It said the moves came despite the fact that “our [Libyan activities have] been limited to humanitarian and civilian activities for years.” The FRC is headed by Abu Nidal, reputed to have killed or wounded 900 people in 20 countries since 1974, aided by radical Arab regimes such as Iraq, Syria and Libya. He recently fled Egypt for Iraq. Most of his group’s targets have been Israelis and PLO moderates, but it has also struck at Jews in Western Europe and against moderate Arab states.