@BintTarablisNusaybah (KC)
Libya's fugitive leader Muammar Gaddafi has dismissed as lies and psychological warfare the speculation that he has fled south to neighbouring Niger.
He was speaking by phone to a pro-Gaddafi TV channel in Syria, apparently from inside Libya.
Earlier, Niger said it was considering what to do if he sought refuge there.
Officials say the central bank sold 29 tonnes of gold, netting 1.7bn Libyan dinars ($1.4bn; £875m), while it was still under Col Gaddafi's control.
The reserves were sold to local merchants in April or May, and the money used to cover salaries, said officials from the interim authorities, the National Transitional Council (NTC).
The sales represented about 20% of Libya's gold reserves, interim bank governor Qassim Azzuz told reporters in the capital Tripoli.
None of the bank's assets were "missing or were stolen" during the six-month uprising which overthrew Col Gaddafi, Mr Azzuz said, but his figures did not include assets held privately by the Gaddafi family.
