Gaddafi wife, three children flee to Algeria

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Muammar Gaddafi's wife and three children fled to Algeria on Monday as rebels closed in on his hometown of Sirte and said the strongman still posed a danger to Libya and the world.

Gaddafi himself and two other children – sons Saadi and Seif al-Islam – were in the town of Bani Walid, south of the capital Tripoli, Italian news agency ANSA reported, citing ‘authoritative Libyan diplomatic sources’.

Algiers announced that Gaddafi's wife Safiya, two sons, a daughter and their children had crossed the border into Algeria.

"The wife of Muammar Gaddafi, Safiya, his daughter Aisha, and sons Hannibal and Mohammed, accompanied by their children, entered Algeria at 8:45 am (0745 GMT) through the Algeria-Libyan border," the foreign ministry said in a statement carried by the state APS news agency, giving no information on the whereabouts of Gaddafi himself.

The ministry said that UN chief Ban Ki-moon, the Security Council and senior Libyan rebel leader Mahmud Jibril had been informed.

So far Algeria has not recognised the rebels' administration and has adopted a stance of strict neutrality on the conflict in its neighbour, leading some among the rebels to accuse it of supporting the Gaddafi regime.

Rebels ‘want’ Gaddafi family

The rebels' National Transitional Council (NTC) immediately said they wanted the Gaddafi family members back.

"We will ask Algeria to give them back," said Mohammed al-Allagy, who handles judicial affairs.

Gaddafi lost another son?

Italy's ANSA news agency said that another Gaddafi son, Khamis, had ‘almost certainly’ been killed as he tried to make the 100 kilometre (60 mile) journey from Tripoli to Bani Walid to join his father and brothers Saadi and Seif al-Islam.

The rebels had said previously that they had captured Seif al-Islam as they overran Tripoli but that claim was holed when he surfaced in the capital and met journalists.

Rebel chief Mustafa Abdel Jalil called for no let-up in international action against the embattled strongman.

"Gaddafi's defiance of the coalition forces still poses a danger, not only for Libya but for the world. That is why we are calling for the coalition to continue its support," Abdel Jalil said at a meeting in Doha of chiefs of staff of countries taking part in military action in Libya.