Convoys of supporters cross the border into Niger

Senior members of Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi’s regime have crossed in convoys from Libya into neighbouring Niger, with the toppled Libyan leader’s own security chief at the head of one of the columns.

Niger customs official Harouna Ide said Mansour Dao, Gaddafi’s security chief, was at the head of the first convoy, which crossed on Monday. He said other Libyan convoys were south of Agadez in central Niger, a vast desert country where Gaddafi has the support of many Tuareg tribal fighters. The vehicles were heading for Niger’s capital Niamey, 600 miles away.

A US State Department spokeswoman said Washington did not believe the dictator was among the passengers. “We don’t have any evidence that Gaddafi is anywhere but in Libya at the moment,” she said.

Assarid Ag Imbarcaouane, an official from Mali, said a convoy was carrying Gaddafi’s entourage. Imbarcaouane is second vice president of the National Assembly of Mali and is a pro-Gaddafi Tuareg leader.

“As far as the information I have received, the Guide is not in the convoy,” he said, referring to Gaddafi. “Rather, it’s the people in Gaddafi’s entourage.”

The customs official said there were a dozen vehicles in Dao’s convoy, and about 12 Gaddafi officials, plus Tuareg rebel leader Rissa ag Boula and other Tuaregs from Niger who had gone to Libya to fight for Gaddafi. The Libyan rebels said they also thought about a dozen other vehicles that crossed the border may have carried gold and cash apparently looted from Libya’s central bank in Gaddafi’s home town of Sirte.

NTC official Fathis Baja said: “Late last night, ten vehicles carrying gold, euros and dollars crossed from Jufra into Niger with the help of Tuaregs from the Niger tribe.

Niamey is in Niger’s south-western corner near Burkina Faso, where Gaddafi has been offered asylum. The government of Burkina Faso said late last month it would recognise the Libyan rebels’ National Transitional Council. Foreign minister Djibril Bassolet also said the nation would welcome Gaddafi “if he wishes it.” A significant flight by Gaddafi’s senior regime figures could bring an important shift as the opposition forces that swept into Tripoli on August 21 and toppled the leader struggle to shut down the last strongholds of his supporters.

Three major cities remain under Gaddafi’s sway – Bani Walid, Sirte and Sabha. If hardcore figures flee in large numbers, it could reduce backing for Gaddafi and open the door for an end to stand-offs at the holdout cities.

A representative of Sirte in the NTC, Hassan Droua, said yesterday there were negotiations with tribes in Sirte for the hand-over of the city.

There were also negotiations with tribal elders from Bani Walid, 90 miles from Tripoli, in talks that showed little progress and underlined the deep mistrust. “The revolutionaries have not come to humiliate anyone. We are all here to listen,” Abdullah Kenshil, the chief negotiator, said at the start of the meeting. Then, in a message intended for Gaddafi loyalists in Bani Walid, he added: “We don’t take revenge and we don’t bear grudges.”