Gaddafi forces let rebels into town without any shots fired

Elusive: Gaddafi is thought to have fled to a desert town
12 April 2012

The net was closing on Colonel Gaddafi today as rebels were on the brink of a deal to peacefully take one of his last strongholds.

The National Transitional Council is believed to have agreed with Gaddafi loyalists in Bani Walid, 95 miles south-east of Tripoli, that their forces can enter the town without a firefight.

At least two of Gaddafi's sons, including Saif al-Islam, and possibly the tyrant himself, are understood to have headed for Bani Walid after fleeing Tripoli. But Gaddafi and Saif are now believed to have left the desert town, where as few as 100 loyalists may now remain.

The whereabouts of the dictator was still unknown but a large convoy of his forces has recently crossed the border into Niger. The armoured vehicles and pick-up trucks are said to have
arrived in the frontier town of Agadez.

Rissa ag Boula, a native of Niger who led a failed war of independence on behalf of ethnic Tuareg nomads a decade ago, was at the front of the convoy, according to locals.

It was not clear if any of the Gaddafi family crossed into Niger. He may be hiding in his hometown of Sirte or the desert oil town of Sabha.

Today Britain faced more damaging claims over the closeness of the previous government and MI6 to the Gaddafi regime. A rebel military commander in Tripoli, Abdel Hakim Belhadj, was said to be considering suing the UK over its alleged role in his rendition in 2004 from Asia to Tripoli where he was jailed for seven years and tortured.

He was allegedly seized at Bangkok airport by CIA agents and Thai police as he tried to seek asylum in Britain. Claims that he was flown on a CIA flight which refuelled in the British overseas territory of Diego Garcia were being played down.

A Foreign Office source said Washington had assured Britain that Diego Garcia had only been used twice for CIA intelligence flights carrying detainees, both times in 2002.

An itinerary for Mr Belhadj to be taken to Tripoli via Diego Garcia is believed to have been recovered from an abandoned building in the capital.

The Intelligence and Security Committee was told in 2007 that a request had been made for a flight carrying a US-held detainee to refuel in Diego Garcia in 2004 but this did not happen.

An inquiry into Britain's intelligence services is to examine the case of Mr Belhadj, who founded the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group which was linked with al Qaeda. He has denied plotting foreign terrorism.

He has demanded an apology from the UK for his treatment and says he was questioned by three British intelligence officers shortly after arriving in Tripoli. He claims he made clear to them that he was being tortured.

Mike Scheuer, a CIA chief who led the hunt for Osama bin Laden, said the SAS and MI6 would now be helping in the military operation to snare Gaddafi.

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