Libyan convoy crosses into Niger

According to Qatar-based broadcaster Al Jazeera, a deal was reached between rebel forces and Gaddafi loyalists early Tuesday to enter the besieged town without fighting.  Bani Walid, a city of 100,000 residents 145km southeast of Tripoli, was seen as a first test of the opposition fighters’ ability to assert control over a large swath of central Libya still controlled by Gaddafi’s loyalists and dominated by the three tribes that formed the backbone of his regime.  The news of a deal came after reports emerged from neighboring Niger that 11 members of Gaddafi’s entourage, including the ousted dictator’s internal security chief Mansour Daw, had fled across the border.

Libyan convoy crosses into Niger

The group was said to have gone initially to the northern Niger town of Agazez.  A military source told AFP, “I saw an exceptionally large and rare convoy of several dozen vehicles enter Agadez from Arlit … and go towards Niamey.”  There was speculation that toppled leader Moamar Gaddafi may have been in the convoy but this could not be confirmed and the whereabouts of the former strongman remain a mystery.  Earlier, his spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said Gaddafi was in good health and in good spirits somewhere in Libya.  “He is in a place that will not be reached by those fractious groups, and he is in Libya,” Ibrahim told the Syrian-owned Arrai TV.

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