Libyan Convoy Spotted in Niger

Posted on Sep 5, 2011

CIA World Factbook

The convoy is reported to have stopped in the town of Agadez.

Reports have a large convoy of Libyan military vehicles crossing the border into Niger, but there is no indication that Moammar Gadhafi, his family or his advisers are on board. The Los Angeles Times reports that the convoy is made up of as many as 250 vehicles, though a local source puts the number at a few dozen.

Though their identity remains a mystery for now, the convoy’s passengers are reported to be well armed.

Update: CNN reported that there were two convoys in as many days and that Gadhafi’s son, Saif al-Islam, may have been carried by one. 

The BBC later reported that the convoy carried mostly Tuareg fighters recruited by Gadhafi to fight for his regime, and that the earlier of the two convoys may have carried the chief of Gadhafi’s security force, Mansour Daw. A spokesman for Gadhafi said on Monday that the ousted leader is still in Libya. —PZS

Los Angeles Times:

A convoy of Libyan military vehicles carrying troops loyal to ousted leader Moammar Kadafi arrived late Monday in this desert town in central Niger, one of Libya’s southern neighbors, military sources said.

The convoy of between 200 and 250 Libyan military vehicles included officers from Libya’s southern army battalions, said the French and Nigerien sources. It probably crossed from Libya into Algeria before entering Niger, they said.

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