Muammar Gaddafi was last tracked heading for Libya's southern border, the man leading the hunt told Reuters, though Burkina Faso again denied Wednesday any plan to offer the deposed leader refuge. After the arrival in neighboring Niger of dozens of Libyan vehicles, including some which may be carrying gold and cash, the United States said the convoy included aides to Gaddafi and urged authorities in Niger to hold any war crimes suspects. Niger has denied Gaddafi is in the poor, landlocked former French colony. But a French military source has told Reuters that he and his son Saif al-Islam may have planned to rendezvous with the convoy in the Sahara, possibly via Algeria, before heading for Burkina Faso, which in the past had offered refuge. Hisham Buhagiar, who coordinates efforts by Libya's interim government to find the ousted strongman, said he had evidence he may have been near the southern village of Ghwat, some 300 km north of the border with Niger, three days ago. “The last tracks, he was in the Ghwat area. People saw the cars going in that direction,” Buhagiar said in an interview late on Tuesday. “We have it from many sources that he's trying to go further south, towards Chad or Niger.” Inside Bani Walid, tucked away in a valley in barren hills south of the capital, residents said Gaddafi-era green flags still wave above houses and a portrait of the “Brother Leader” in military uniform towers above its central square. Aid agencies have also raised concerns about conditions for civilians in the coastal city of Sirte, Gaddafi's birthplace and another redoubt of tribal leaders still loyal to him. Libya's southern desert is also not under the control of the NTC.
