Washington: The US government says it believes Colonel Muammar Gaddafi is still in Libya and was not travelling in convoys that crossed from Libya into Niger in the last couple of days.
A US national security official said that people connected with Gaddafi's crumbling regime were believed to be in the convoys. Niger officials said Mansour Dhao, Gaddafi's personal security chief, crossed into Niger on Sunday.
A second US official said that one of the convoys was of a "configuration" which suggested it was carrying high-ranking figures from Gaddafi's regime. However, this official said he had no information about Gaddafi himself travelling in the convoy or fleeing Libya.
Military sources told that a convoy of between 200 and 250 vehicles had been escorted to the northern city of Agadez by Niger army personnel. US officials said that Gaddafi's regime had close ties to Niger-based Tuareg rebels, some of whom had gone to Libya to help defend Gaddafi.
A French military source told it was possible that Gaddafi and his son and would-be heir, Saif al-Islam, could join the convoy later and head for neighbouring Burkina Faso.
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