Libya's former rebels have surrounded the ousted dictator Muammar Gaddafi,and it is only a matter of time until he is captured or killed,a spokesman for Tripoli's new military council said today. Anis Sharif would not say where Gaddafi had been found,but said he was still in Libya and had been tracked using high technology and human intelligence. Gaddafi is trapped within a 40-mile-radius area surrounded by rebels,he said. "He can't get out," said Sharif,who added the former rebels are preparing to either detain him or kill him. Locating Gaddafi would help seal the new rulers' hold on the country. The announcement after convoys of Gaddafi loyalists,including his security chief,fled across the Sahara into Niger in a move that Libya's former rebels hoped could help lead to the surrender of his last strongholds. Some former rebels depicted the flight to Niger as a major exodus of Gaddafi's most hardcore backers. But confirmed information on the number and identity of those leaving was scarce given the vast swath of desert over 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometres) between populated areas on the two sides of the border. In Niger's capital,Niamey,Massoudou Hassoumi,a spokesman for the president said Gaddafi's security chief had crossed the desert into Niger on Monday accompanied by a major Tuareg rebel. The government of Niger dispatched a military convoy to escort Mansour Dao,the former commander of Libya's Revolutionary Guards who is a cousin of Gaddafi as well as a member of his inner circle,to Niamey. Dao is the only senior Libyan figure to have crossed into Niger,said Hassoumi,who denied reports that Gaddafi or any member of his immediate family were in the convoy. Hassoumi said the group of nine people also included several pro-Gaddafi businessmen,as well as Agaly ag Alambo,a Tuareg rebel leader from Niger who led a failed uprising in the country's north before crossing into Libya,where he was believed to be fighting for Gaddafi. US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters,"We don't have any evidence that Gaddafi is anywhere but in Libya at the moment." Since Tripoli's fall last month to Libyan rebels,there has been a movement of Gaddafi loyalists across the porous desert border that separates Libya from Niger. They include Tuareg fighters who are nationals of Niger and next-door neighbour Mali who fought on Gaddafi's behalf in the recent civil war. There has been intense speculation regarding the whereabouts of Gaddafi's inner circle and last week,Algeria,which like Niger shares a border with Libya confirmed that the ousted leader's wife,his daughter,two of his sons,and several grandchildren had crossed into Algeria. Hassoumi said "waves" of returnees had crossed over from Libya before the arrival of Gaddafi's security chief,but he said they were mostly Tuaregs and not Libyan soldiers or civilians. Tuareg fighters have long been enlisted as mercenaries for Gaddafi's regime. The West African nation of Burkina Faso,which borders Niger,offered Gaddafi asylum last month,raising speculation the convoys were part of a plan to arrange passage there for the ousted leader. But yesterday,Burkina Faso distanced itself from Gaddafi,indicating he would be arrested if he went there.
