Libya's Ex-Intelligence Chief Spotted in Northern Niger
Libya's former intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi, wanted by the International Criminal Court, has been spotted in northern Niger, a government source in the capital Niamey said Saturday.
"The presence of Abdullah al Senussi has been indicated in the far north of Niger" near the border with Libya, the source told AFP.
"It's a report that we have but our defense and security forces have not yet intercepted him," the source said. "So his presence in Niger is not yet officially established."
Senussi, 62, is the brother-in-law and former right-hand man of Libya's slain former dictator Moammar Gadhafi.
The ICC issued arrest warrants on June 27 for Gadhafi, his son and longtime heir-apparent Seif al-Islam, who remains at large, and Senussi on charges of crimes against humanity.
Gadhafi, who lorded over the oil-rich north African nation for 42 years, met a violent end in murky circumstances on Thursday following his capture by fighters of Libya's new regime.
France may demand Senussi's extradition if he is arrested by Niamey, since a Paris court sentenced him in absentia to life in prison for the 1989 bombing of a French UTA airliner that claimed 170 lives.
The court also convicted five suspected members of the Libyan secret service in the case.
So far 32 members of Gadhafi’s entourage including his son Saadi have taken refuge in Niger for "humanitarian" reasons.
Among them are three generals and the head of Gadhafi’s personal bodyguards, Mansur Daou, according to the authorities, who say they are under surveillance but have not been detained.
However on Thursday in Gadhafi’s hometown Sirte where the strongman was tracked down, local medical staff and a fighter said Daou was wounded there, and Free Libya television in Tripoli said he was captured.
Niger's Foreign Minister Mohamed Bazoum told AFP on Friday that the end of the Libyan conflict would allow it to lift restrictions on senior Gadhafi loyalists who sought refuge there, except Gadhafi’s son Saadi.
"Of the 32 people who are in Niger, only one has a clear judicial status, Mr. Saadi Gadhafi. He's the target of a U.N. Security Council resolution travel ban. He's in Niger, we're obliged to apply this resolution," Bazoum told AFP during a visit to Paris.
Source: Agence France Presse
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