Libya demands Niger hand over Gaddafi’s son
An African migrant holds the flag of Niger as he and others ride in trucks on their way to be evacuated from Libya by an International Organization for Migration (IOM) ship.
Libya urged Niger to hand over one of Muammar Gaddafi’s sons on Saturday, who is currently under house arrest there, the Associated Press reported.
The ruling transitional government said Niger had to extradite Al Saadi Gaddafi, son of the ruler that was captured and killed in Libya in October. Mohammed Hareizi, spokesman for the National Transitional Council, said Gaddafi and other former regime officials under house arrest there must be released in order to "preserve its relationship and interests" in Libya, the AP reported.
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"They should follow the Algerian government which prevented Gaddafi's daughter from making statements or causing any trouble from their land," Hareizi said, adding that NTC Chairman Mustafa Abdel Jalil had called Niger's president to discuss Gaddafi, Reuters reported.
Niger’s response, however, wasn’t exactly what Libya demanded. Niger, Libya’s neighboring African country, pledged to tighten house surveillance and but said again Gaddafi wouldn’t be handed over to a country where he wouldn’t face execution, Reuters reported.
"Our position remains the same, we will hand Saadi Gaddafi to a government that has an independent and impartial justice system," government spokesman Marou Amadou said, the AFP reported.
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Gaddafi fled to Niger in September as Libyan rebels gained control over Tripoli.
On Friday, Gaddafi spoke to Al Arabiya television via telephone, saying he was in regular contact with people in Libya who said they were unhappy with the authorities put into place since October, Reuters reported.
"There is a rebellion that is going on day after day, and there will be a rebellion in the entire country," Gaddafi said, adding that the Libyans were ruled "by gangs,” the AFP reported.
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