Tripoli, September 11: A number of Libyan generals loyal to fugitive ruler Muammar Gaddafi have reportedly arrived in Burkina Faso after passing through Niger.
An unnamed source from Niger’s Tuareg community said on Friday that a convoy of armored vehicles first brought the generals into Niger via the northern Nigerien town of Agadez some three to four weeks ago, AFP reported.
The source added that they then headed for Niamey, the capital of Niger, and made a transaction at the Libyan bank Bisic before entering Burkina Faso.
The convoy was escorted by a Tuareg rebel leader that had longstanding ties with Gaddafi. He fled to Libya after he was defeated in a war of independence for Tuareg nomads and was believed to be fighting on behalf of Gaddafi.
The Tuareg are a nomadic pastoralist people and are the principal inhabitants of the Saharan interior of North Africa. They regularly provided mercenaries used by Gaddafi to fight revolutionary fighters.
“We have knowledge that there have been more crossings into Niger, but as to the contents of those convoys and who is travelling in them, we don’t know,” Libyan National Transitional Council spokesman Jalal al-Gallal said.
Gallal acknowledged that neighboring Niger, with its porous borders and cash-strapped economy, remains an easy escape route for the remnants of Gaddafi’s regime.
Meanwhile, Nigerien Prime Minister Brigi Rafini, who was in Burkina Faso on Thursday for talks with President Blaise Compaore, denied rumors that Gaddafi was already in Niger. However, he did not rule out giving Gaddafi asylum, even though he is wanted by the International Criminal Court.
Interpol has called for Gaddafi’s arrest on charges of crimes against humanity, in response to a request by the International Criminal Court.
The whereabouts of the fugitive ruler are still unknown, but some members of his family, including his wife and three of his children, recently sought refuge in Algeria.
——Agencies