Pages

Monday 12 September 2011

Saadi Gaddafi, third son of the former Libyan leader, has fled the country into neighbouring Niger,

Saadi Gaddafi
Saadi Gaddafi in Sydney in 2005 Photo: REUTERS

His flight reduces the retinue of close family members sticking by Col Gaddafi to just two sons, Saif al-Islam and Mutassim, and his closest aide and brother-in-law, Abdullah Senussi.

Marou Amadou, the Niger justice minister, confirmed he had crossed the two countries’ Saharan border in a convoy of vehicles and been intercepted by local troops.

He said the convoy was continuing to the northern town of Agadez and from there to the capital Niamey, where a number of Touareg tribal leaders formerly loyal to Col Gaddafi have also sought refuge in recent weeks.

His flight will be a further blow to the confidence of those troops remaining loyal to the old regime. Earlier in the day, rebels made advances on the two remaining loyalist hold-outs in northern Libya after a string of Nato bombing raids.

Saadi was one of the more westernised of Col Gaddafi’s family, though no less capricious that the rest. A former footballer, he played twice for Italian Serie A teams, though he was banned for failing a drugs test.

 

 

0 comments:

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

 
Design by Free WordPress Themes | Bloggerized by Lasantha - Premium Blogger Themes | Online Project management