Libyan Dictator Gaddafi Alive, in High Spirits, Belligerent - FIDE Head

A handout TV grab made available on 14 June 2011 by World Chess Federation (FIDE)`s press service, shows Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi (R) shaking hands with FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov (L) in Tripoli, Libya, 12 June 2011 EPA/BGNES

Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi is alive and well in Tripoli and is in high spirits, according to the head of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) Kirsan Ilyumdzhinov, who claims to have spoken to him by phone.

"I am alive and healthy, I am in Tripoli and do not intend to leave Libya. Do not believe the lying reports by Western television companies," Gaddafi told Ilyumdzhinov, as quoted by Interfax late Tuesday afternoon.

The Libyan dictator is further quoted as vowing to "fight to the end", as the Libyan rebels have staged a fierce attack on his compound in Tripoli backed by NATO air power.

Ilyumdzhimov visited the Gaddafi-controlled parts of Libya in June 2011, and was pictured by international photo agencies playing chess with Gaddafi himself and with his son Mohammed Gaddafi.

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