GADDAFI’S DAUGHTER ‘GIVES BIRTH’ in algeria

Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi’s daughter Aisha gave birth to a girl yesterday, a day after Algeria granted her and other members of the dictator’s family refuge, according to a source close to the Algerian health ministry.

News of the birth came as a surprise as there had not been any public announcement to suggest Aisha, a lawyer in her mid-30s, was pregnant.

Earlier this week, Algeria announced that Gaddafi’s wife, Safiya Farkash, two of his sons, Hannibal and Muhammed, and his daughter had fled into its terrority.

Libya’s ruling interim council has implored Algeria to hand them back to face trial in their homeland. Aisha, Gaddafi’s only biological daughter, ran a charitable foundation and in 2004 joined a team of lawyers defending former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

She had stayed out of Libyan politics, but since the start of a revolt against her father’s rule in February she appeared at pro-Gaddafi rallies and gave interviews in which she accused Nato of killing Libyan children.

The source close to the health ministry, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: “Gaddafi’s daughter gave birth to a girl today, this is all I can say.”

Algeria has argued that handing Gaddafi’s family back to Libya would breach their “holy rule of hospitality” and Algeria’s ambassador to the United Nations, Mourad Benmehidi, said his country had accepted the family on humanitarian grounds.

However, a local newspaper reported that Algeria would hand over Gaddafi to the International Criminal Court (ICC) if he entered the North African country.

Quoting Algerian sources, the Echorouk newspaper said on its website that President Abdelaziz Bouteflika had told government ministers at a cabinet meeting on Monday that Algeria would respect international law on all matters related to the Libyan conflict.

“Should Gaddafi try to enter Algerian soil amid talk that the rebels are tightening their grip on the border with Tunisia, and Egyptian [border] restrictions, Algeria would arrest him and hand him over to the International Criminal Court in compliance with international agreements,” the newspaper said.