TRIPOLI — Libya’s oil minister defected and fled to Tunisia, a Tunisian security official said yesterday, making him one of the highest-profile figures to abandon Moammar Khadafy’s government.
Shukri Ghanem, the head of the National Oil Co. and Libya’s oil minister, crossed into Tunisia by road on Monday, the Tunisian official said.
Ghanem is one of the most prominent members of Khadafy’s government to leave amid fighting between the military and rebels who are seeking to end the Libyan dictator’s more than 40-year rule.
Ghanem is among Khadafy-government officials under US sanctions announced by the Treasury Department in April.
Early yesterday, NATO jets pounded two government buildings in the Libyan capital, including the Interior Ministry, setting them on fire.