Tripoli, August 30: Members of the family of fugitive Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi have taken refuge in Algeria, but Gaddafi’s whereabouts are still unknown.
Muammar Gaddafi’s wife Safia, sons Hannibal and Mohammed, and daughter Aisha arrived in Algeria on Monday morning, according to the Algerian Foreign Ministry.
The revolutionary leadership has been angered by Algeria’s acceptance of Gaddafi’s wife and relatives.
A Libyan National Transition Council spokesman accused Algeria of an act of aggression and said the council would seek the extradition of the Gaddafis.
Meanwhile, the revolutionary forces have converged on Gaddafi’s hometown of Sirte from the east and the west, intent on seizing one of his last bastions of support either by force or by negotiation.
Muammar Gaddafi’s whereabouts have been unknown since Tripoli fell to the revolutionary forces and his 42-year dictatorship collapsed a week ago after a six-month uprising backed by the West and several Arab nations.
On Monday, the US government announced it has no indication that Gaddafi has left Libya.
“If we knew where he was, we would pass that on to the opposition forces,” a White House spokesman said.
——Agencies