One of embattled Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's sons has warned that civil war would break out if his father is ousted, saying that 'the situation is very dangerous', the broadcaster Al Arabiya reported on Monday on its website.
"If something happened to the leader, who would be in control?" al-Saadi Gaddafi, who is the third of seven sons, was quoted as saying. "The situation is not like Tunisia or Egypt."
Those Northern African countries saw their long-time leaders ousted earlier this year in the wake of popular uprisings.
In his interview with Al Arabiya, the younger Gaddafi argued that Libya would instead turn into a state similar to Somalia, suggesting that the country's tribes would fight one another without his father's unifying presence.
"From the perspective of a civil war, the leader must play a very, very big role in calming Libya and convincing people to sit together," he said.
He also faulted his brother Saif al-Islam and Libya's ministers for failing to follow his father's recommendations on alleviating the problems of poverty and high prices for ordinary citizens.
"The leader told them on a daily basis that you are facilitating matters and the budget, but there are things they did not do," he said.
Al-Saadi had been a professional footballer in Italy prior to becoming a businessman.
Shortly after violence erupted in the large eastern city of Benghazi - now run by rebels - al-Saadi had said on local radio that he would help implement an "unprecedented development plan" there.
Opposition later reported that al-Saadi was encircled in a hotel there and essentially run out of town. A day later, he appeared at a pro-Gaddafi rally in Tripoli waving a green flag.