Hundreds of Libyan army vehicles enter Niger from Libya
September 07, 2011 00:00:00
AGADEZ, (Niger), Sept 6, (agencies): Hundreds of Libyan army vehicles have crossed the desert frontier into Niger in what may be a dramatic, secretly negotiated bid by Moammar Gaddafi to seek refuge in a friendly African state, military sources from France and Niger told news agencies Tuesday morning.
The convoy of 200 to 250 vehicles was given an escort by the army of Niger, an impoverished and landlocked former French colony to the south of Libya, and might, according to a French military source, be joined by Gadhafi en route for neighboring Burkina Faso, which has offered him asylum.
It was not clear where the ousted dictator was. He has broadcast defiance since being forced into hiding two weeks ago, and has previously vowed to die fighting on Libyan soil.
Gaddafi's son and presumed heir Saif al-Islam also was considering joining the convoy, the French source added. France played a leading role in the war against Gaddafi and such a large Libyan military convoy could hardly have moved safely without the knowledge and agreement of NATO air forces.
A report from Algiers adds: Ousted Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was not in a convoy of vehicles that crossed the border from Libya into Niger, Niger Foreign Minister Mohamed Bazoum said Tuesday.
"It is not true, it is not Gaddafi and I do not think the convoy was of the size attributed to it," he told AFP by phone from Algiers, denying reports that Gaddafi and some of his sons were among the convoy that arrived in Niger Monday.
Nato, which has been carrying out air strikes in support of a UN mandate to protect Libyan civilians, has refused to comment on the reports.
A military source told AFP, as Tripoli's new regime confirmed the report saying there were 200 cars.
"I saw an exceptionally large and rare convoy of several dozen vehicles enter Agadez from Arlit... and go towards Niamey," the source said, amid speculation that toppled Libyan leader Gaddafi may be in it.
"There are persistent rumours that Gaddafi or one of his sons are travelling in the convoy," the source said.
The new leadership in Tripoli said Tuesday that a convoy of around 200 cars had crossed from Libya into Niger, without being able to confirm if Gaddafi's entourage was aboard.
"We can confirm that around 200 cars crossed from Libya to Niger, but we can't confirm who was in this convoy," Jalal al-Gallal, spokesman for the National Transitional Council in the Libyan capital, told AFP.
He added however that "these types of convoys usually carry Gaddafi or one of his sons."
A journalist from a private radio station in Agadez said he saw "a convoy of several dozen vehicles crossing the city and heading towards Niamey", the Niger capital.
The journalist said several people reported seeing in the convoy Rhissa Ag Boula, a figurehead Tuareg rebel in Niger who is close to Gaddafi.
Another Nigerien government source earlier said prominent regime officials had fled across the border Sunday.
They included Gaddafi's internal security chief Mansour Daw, who was earlier reported to be in the loyalist stronghold Bani Walid with at least two of the fallen strongman's sons.
Another report adds: NATO is not tracking "fleeing former regime leaders" in Libya, an alliance spokesman said Tuesday, after a Libyan military convoy with Gaddafi rumoured aboard crossed into Niger.
"To be clear, our mission is to protect the civilian population in Libya, not to track and target thousands of fleeing former regime leaders, mercenaries, military commanders and internally displaced people," said Colonel Roland Lavoie, the NATO mission's military spokesman.
A military source in Niger said earlier that an "exceptionally large and rare convoy" of several dozen vehicles entered the northern Niger city of Agadez late Monday and was going towards the capital Niamey.
NATO, which has repeatedly denied targeting Gaddafi and other regime officials, did not confirm or deny whether it knew about the convoy.
He added that NATO warplanes destroyed two large regime convoys that threatened civilians in the past two weeks.