The Algerian Foreign Ministry said on Monday that the wife and three children of fugitive Libyan leader Col. Muammar Gaddafi had arrived in Algeria, Al Arabiya said.
"The wife of Muammar Gaddafi, Safia, his daughter Ayesha, and his sons Muhammad and Hannibal with their children entered the territory of Algeria ... through the Algerian-Libyan border," said a ministry statement circulated by the Algerie Presse Service agency.
Algeria has not recognized the legitimacy of the Libyan rebels’ new government, the National Transitional Council, and has criticized NATO’s role in the conflict between Gaddafi loyalists and the rebels.
The whereabouts of Gaddafi have remained unknown since the rebels seized control of his headquarters in Tripoli, the capital, almost a week ago, after six months of armed confrontation.
The Algerian Foreign Ministry said the news on the arrival of Gaddafi family members had been reported to the UN Secretary General, the UN Security Council and the Libyan National Transitional Council.
Last week, media reports said a convoy containing six armored Mercedes cars had left Libya for Algeria. The reports suggested it was Col. Gaddafi and his sons. But the Algerian Foreign Ministry dismissed the reports.
The Algerian authorities have expressed concern that now that the armed clashes are over, weapons and financial resources will end up in the hands of militant groups such as al-Qaeda.
Gaddafi's wife and three children in Algeria - diplomats
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The Algerian Foreign Ministry said on Monday that the wife and three children of fugitive Libyan leader Col. Muammar Gaddafi had arrived in Algeria, Al Arabiya said.
