Niger, the West African nation where Libya’s fugitive Saif al-Islam Qaddafi might be headed, risks a backlash from nomad Tuaregs in its north if it follows through on its obligation to hand him over to the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Libya’s aid-reliant southern neighbor has vowed to respect commitments to the ICC, but knows that could spark unrest in Saharan areas where a string of past rebellions against the capital were nurtured by former Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi, feted by many in the desert as a hero.
The Hague-based ICC said Qaddafi’s 39-year-old son was in contact via intermediaries about surrendering for trial, but it also had information that mercenaries were trying to spirit him to a friendly African nation.
Libyan officials and others involved in the situation have said Saif al-Islam was apparently anxious not to be captured by Libyan interim government forces in whose hands his father was killed more than a week ago.
Niger has declined to comment on statements this past week from local leaders in its remote north that Saif al-Islam was most likely already on its side of the mountain range that straddles its porous border with Algeria and Mali.
A senior official for the northern region of Agadez, which has been a way station for Libyan fugitives including another Qaddafi son, Saadi, said on Saturday it had hosted US military representatives for talks on security.
The official, who requested anonymity, declined to say what the talks with the US were specifically about, but spoke of escape plans by Saif al-Islam and former Libyan intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi, both wanted by the ICC for war crimes.
“Senussi is being extricated from Mali toward a country that is a non-signatory to the [ICC] convention. I am certain that they will both [Senussi and Saif al-Islam] be extricated by plane, one from Mali, the other from Niger,” the official said.
He said there were at least 10 airstrips in the north of Niger near the Libyan border that could be used to whisk Saif al-Islam out of the country.
A member of parliament from northern Mali, Ibrahim Assaleh Ag Mohamed, denied Senussi was in his country and said neither he nor Saif al-Islam would be accepted if they tried to enter.
Niger, like Mali, has signed up to the ICC’s statute, but handing over Saif al-Islam would spark anger among northerners who feel remote from the capital Niamey and have long espoused Qaddafi’s vision of a cross-border Saharan people.
“We are ready to hide him wherever needed,” said Mouddour Barka, a resident of Agadez town.
“We are telling the international community to stay out of this business and our own authorities not to hand him over — otherwise we are ready to go out onto the streets and they will have us to deal with,” he added.
ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said in an interview that communication with Saif al-Islam was being made possible by “intermediaries,” despite his remote location.
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