A convoy carrying ousted Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi’s son al-Saadi has crossed into neighboring Niger. One of the highest-profile former regime figure to flee to the landlocked African nation. Hit the jump to read the rest of the story.
@WiL
Al-Saadi, the fugitive ruler’s 37-year-old son, entered Niger in a convoy with nine other people, said Niger Justice Minister Amadou Morou. The vehicles were traveling south toward the outpost of Agadez, where other fleeing Libyan loyalists are believed to be holed up in a hotel.
“I wish to announce that one of Gadhafi’s sons — al-Saadi Gadhafi — was intercepted in the north of Niger by a patrol of the Nigerien military,” Morou told reporters late Sunday.
He said al-Saadi “has no status at all” in Niger, indicating that he has not been granted refugee status, which would guarantees him certain rights.
Since last week, several convoys carrying senior officials of the former Libyan regime as well as civilians and soldiers have made their way across the porous desert border into Niger. Among them were several of Gadhafi’s top military officers, including his chief of security and the head of his southern command.
Niger has faced increasing scrutiny for allowing the former regime members onto its soil, and al-Saadi’s arrival will likely intensify international pressure on the country to cooperate with Libya’s new rulers. They want all Gadhafi’s sons — and Gadhafi himself, who is on the run — to be turned over for trial.
Last week, the U.S. urged Niger to detain any individuals who may be subject to prosecution in Libya, as well as to confiscate their weapons and impound any state property, such as money or jewels, that were illegally taken out of the country.
