Libya’s former rebels have surrounded ousted dictator Muammar Qadhafi, and it is only a matter of time until he is captured or killed, a spokesman for Tripoli’s new military council said Wednesday.
Anis Sharif would not say where Mr. Qadhafi had been found, but said he was still in Libya and had been tracked using high technology and human intelligence. Mr. Qadhafi is trapped within a 60 kilometre-radius area surrounded by rebels, he said.
“He can’t get out,” said Mr. Sharif, who added the former rebels are preparing to either detain him or kill him.
Locating Mr. Qadhafi would help seal the new rulers’ hold on the country. The announcement came after convoys of Qadhafi 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 Mr. Qadhafi’s most hardcore backers. But confirmed information on the number and identity of those leaving was scarce given the vast swath of desert between populated areas on the two sides of the border.
