A Syrian television station has aired an audio message purportedly from ousted Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, who slammed reports that he had fled Libya in a convoy to neighboring Niger.In the comments broadcast Thursday on Al-Rai TV, Gadhafi called the reports "lies" designed to destroy morale and insisted he is still in Libya. He also said his supporters will defeat NATO and are ready to fight transitional authority forces in the capital, Tripoli.
The National Transitional Council (NTC) has sent envoys to Niger in an effort to prevent Gadhafi and his entourage from escaping justice by fleeing across the border. Gadhafi's whereabouts are not known, and Niger's government has confirmed the former strongman is not in the country.
Officials in Niger say they are acting in consultation with the NTC and that recent movements of Libyan convoys across the border have been much smaller than reported.
Niger Justice Minister Marou Amadou said Wednesday a total of 18 people - including five Niger citizens - in four vehicles had entered the country from Libya in recent days. He said there was no convoy of 200 vehicles, as had been reported by some media.
Other Niger officials confirmed that senior members of Gadhafi's government - led by his own security chief, Mansour Dhao - had crossed the border together with Tuareg fighters from Niger who had joined the former leader's forces.
In Washington, the State Department said U.S. officials have urged North African countries to tighten border controls, arrest fleeing Gadhafi government officials and impound funds they may be carrying. Spokeswoman Victoria Nuland acknowledged that news reports about large convoys crossing Libya's southwest frontier were "overblown."
Meanwhile, conflicting reports emerged about whether NTC forces have cornered Gadhafi in Libya's southern Sahara desert.
The spokesman for Tripoli's military commander Anis Sharif said Wednesday provisional authority forces have advanced to within 65 kilometers of his location and surrounded the area. He said Gadhafi "cannot escape," adding that former rebel fighters are expected to move in soon.
But senior Libyan defense officials dismissed the claim, saying Libya's new rulers have no idea where the fugitive former leader is. The New York Times quotes the NTC's military press liaison Abdulrahman Busin as citing unconfirmed reports that Gadhafi may be in yet another convoy moving toward the remote Niger frontier.
Niger borders Burkina Faso, which had previously announced it would grant asylum to Gadhafi. On Tuesday, however, Burkina Faso officials said the former strongman would be arrested if he arrived there.
Also Wednesday, the U.S. Ambassador the United Nations, Susan Rice, said the Security Council expects a briefing in the coming days from the U.N.'s special representative for post-conflict planning in Libya.
Rice said a draft resolution will then be crafted based on the report, showing the Council's "support and approval" for steps the U.N. plans to take to put its personnel to work in Libya. She said those actions would be consistent with requests from the NTC, and that the Council will also review the sanctions currently in place against Libya in light of recent developments.
NATO on Wednesday said its warplanes bombed several tanks and other armored vehicles around Gadhafi's hometown, Sirte. The first fighting in days was reported near Sirte on Tuesday, but NTC commanders said the clashes did not mark the launch of an all-out bid to capture the city.
In the desert outpost of Bani Walid, negotiators from Libya's National Transitional Council say they are committed to avoiding bloodshed where they are pressing tribal elders tied to Mr. Gadhafi's former rule to surrender.
Town elders and NTC representatives met Tuesday for talks at a mosque on the town's outskirts, but the elders were later confronted by angry citizens, including Gadhafi supporters, who fired into the air and sent them fleeing. (VOA News)
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