Defection

Libyan Foreign Minister Musa Kusa Arrives in UK

Musa Kusa helped negotiate release of Lockerbie bomber.

Libyan Foreign Minister Musa Kusa arrived in Britain Wednesday night, the most senior member of leader Col. Muammar Gaddafi’s government to defect. A close friend of Kusa’s said the foreign minister left the regime because of Gaddafi's attacks on civilians, but the Libyan government said Kusa was traveling on a diplomatic mission and denied he had defected. A British government source called the defection “a significant blow” to the embattled leader, and the British government encouraged other senior leaders to join Kusa. British foreign ministry and intelligence officials reportedly debriefed Kusa, who had been involved in the negotiations to free Lockerbie bomber Abdelbasset al-Megrahi.