Fears leader will try to seek refuge overseas

The hunt for Muammar Gaddafi was under way yesterday amid fears he was preparing to flee overseas.

With his 42-year regime in tatters, an increasingly desperate Gaddafi took to the airwaves during his final hours in charge on Monday, telling his supporters: ''I am in Tripoli. Go out. I am with you until the end.''

But the audio broadcast was not accompanied by pictures, intensifying speculation that he had already fled the capital and was attempting to seek exile in a sympathetic country.
Advertisement: Story continues below

NATO intelligence operatives were using the ''full array'' of surveillance equipment available in attempts to track him down, with a large number of RAF and other NATO aircraft over Libya looking for leaders of the regime.

All civilian flights are being tracked in case he tries to flee and US Rivet Joint spy aircraft are monitoring all communications by mobile or satellite phone.

Royal Air Force Sentinel aircraft were expected to use their sophisticated Astor radar to track convoys heading into the desert.

Pentagon officials believe Gaddafi is in Libya, but the feeling among the rebels is that he has already left Tripoli.

With an International Criminal Court warrant out for his arrest and few allies in the world, Gaddafi's options for exile are limited. Any nation that is signatory to the court is duty bound to hand him over to the authorities at The Hague.

Despite official denials, South Africa has agreed to play a role in negotiating Gaddafi's exit strategy from Libya.

A South African air force plane was on standby in Tunisia and, said sources, the government is prepared to facilitate Gaddafi's safe passage out of the region if he decides to flee.

Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, South Africa's foreign minister, rejected any suggestion that South Africa, which is a signatory to the international court, might be a venue for exile. Venezuela has also been touted as a possible destination because its socialist President, Hugo Chavez, is a long-time friend of Gaddafi, who has condemned NATO operations in Libya as an attempt to seize control of the country's valuable oilfields.

If Gaddafi has left Tripoli, one of the most likely places for him to head would be the western city of Sirte, where he was born and where he still enjoys widespread support.

It is feared that he stockpiled weapons in Sirte and will use them against his own people if cornered. Yesterday a NATO spokeswoman said Sirte forces loyal to Gaddafi fired three Scud missiles on Monday.

Gaddafi could also head for his ancestral home of Sabha in the south and attempt to cross into Chad.

Source: smh.com.au