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More Qaddafi loyalists flee Libya for Niger
Saturday, 10 September 2011
More loyalists of toppled Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi have fled into neighboring Niger, sources in the main northern Niger town of Agadez said Saturday.
A travel agency head said a dozen vehicles had arrived Friday via Arlit escorted by Niger troops.
A security source said they contained associates of Qaddafi, without specifying identities or numbers, while a local journalist said a dozen vehicles had left for the capital Niamey.
Niger vowed Friday to respect international commitments if wanted Libyans enter its territory but denied Qaddafi was among senior officials of the toppled regime already within its borders.
Amadou confirmed three Qaddafi-era generals, including his air force chief Al-Rifi Ali al-Sharif, arrived in Agadez in northern Niger Thursday night.
The other two were Ali Khana, a Qaddafi bodyguard and chief of the forces in Awbari in southern Libya, and Mahammed Abydalkarem, commander of the military in Murzuq, also in the south.
Sources in Agadez said Saturday they were confined to a luxury hotel in the town under military police guard.
A source from Niger’s ethnic Tuareg community said Friday a number of pro-Qaddafi generals and senior officials had passed through Niger into Burkina Faso three or four weeks ago.
But a senior official in Ouagadougou denied the report.
At least two convoys of Libyan vehicles crossed into Niger in recent days, sparking speculation that Qaddafi might have slipped out of Libya and was on his way to either Niamey or Ouagadougou.
But Niger’s Prime Minister Brigi Rafini, in Burkina Faso Thursday for talks with President Blaise Compaore, denied Qaddafi was in his country.
The ousted strongman himself also dismissed reports Thursday that he fled to Niger.
Niger has confirmed having allowed in a dozen Qaddafi aides, including his internal security chief Mansour Daw, for “humanitarian reasons”.
They are being held under house arrest in Niamey, in a tightly guarded state-owned villa on the banks of the Niger river.
In Libya interim justice minister Mohammed al-Allagy said Friday an extradition request would be sent to Niger for the former regime officials there.
National Transitional Council spokesman Jalal al-Gallal told AFP that Niger, with its porous borders and cash-strapped economy, remains an easy escape route for remnants of Qaddafi’s regime or even the fugitive strongman himself.
He urged countries, particularly Libya’s neighbors, not to facilitate the escape of former regime officials or Qaddafi by providing a safe haven.
“These people are convicted criminals. We are discovering mass graves every day,” he said.
A travel agency head said a dozen vehicles had arrived Friday via Arlit escorted by Niger troops.
A security source said they contained associates of Qaddafi, without specifying identities or numbers, while a local journalist said a dozen vehicles had left for the capital Niamey.
Niger vowed Friday to respect international commitments if wanted Libyans enter its territory but denied Qaddafi was among senior officials of the toppled regime already within its borders.
Amadou confirmed three Qaddafi-era generals, including his air force chief Al-Rifi Ali al-Sharif, arrived in Agadez in northern Niger Thursday night.
The other two were Ali Khana, a Qaddafi bodyguard and chief of the forces in Awbari in southern Libya, and Mahammed Abydalkarem, commander of the military in Murzuq, also in the south.
Sources in Agadez said Saturday they were confined to a luxury hotel in the town under military police guard.
A source from Niger’s ethnic Tuareg community said Friday a number of pro-Qaddafi generals and senior officials had passed through Niger into Burkina Faso three or four weeks ago.
But a senior official in Ouagadougou denied the report.
At least two convoys of Libyan vehicles crossed into Niger in recent days, sparking speculation that Qaddafi might have slipped out of Libya and was on his way to either Niamey or Ouagadougou.
But Niger’s Prime Minister Brigi Rafini, in Burkina Faso Thursday for talks with President Blaise Compaore, denied Qaddafi was in his country.
The ousted strongman himself also dismissed reports Thursday that he fled to Niger.
Niger has confirmed having allowed in a dozen Qaddafi aides, including his internal security chief Mansour Daw, for “humanitarian reasons”.
They are being held under house arrest in Niamey, in a tightly guarded state-owned villa on the banks of the Niger river.
In Libya interim justice minister Mohammed al-Allagy said Friday an extradition request would be sent to Niger for the former regime officials there.
National Transitional Council spokesman Jalal al-Gallal told AFP that Niger, with its porous borders and cash-strapped economy, remains an easy escape route for remnants of Qaddafi’s regime or even the fugitive strongman himself.
He urged countries, particularly Libya’s neighbors, not to facilitate the escape of former regime officials or Qaddafi by providing a safe haven.
“These people are convicted criminals. We are discovering mass graves every day,” he said.
