Gadhafi Dead: Son on Path to Flee Libya

As Moammar Gadhafi's body is buried in the dessert under an unmarked grave, his son and one time heir Saif al-Islam Gadhafi, is preparing to flee Libya, a member of the National Transitional Council has revealed.

With help from Gadhafi's former intelligence chief, Saif al-Islam has been reported as undergoing an escape plot towards Niger, where other Gadhafi loyalists have seeked refuge.

He's on the triangle of Niger and Algeria. He's south of Ghat, the Ghat area. He was given a false Libyan passport from the area of Murzuq, the official told Reuters by telephone.

Saif al-Islam is the only one of Gadhafi's sons who has not yet been accounted for. Two have fled to Algeria, one is in Niger already, two were killed in the Libyan conflict and one was killed during the capture of his father in Sirte last Thursday.

Ethnic Tuaregs are reported to be assisting Saif al-Islam across the dunes that mark the path from Libya to Niger, Rissa ag Boula, an adviser to Niger's president told The Associated Press. The Tuaregs were one of Gadhafi's strongest supporters who fought hard to try and keep him in power.

If he comes here, the government will accept him, but the government will also need to respect its international obligations. It's up to him to decide (whether to stay on the run or come to Niger), Boula told AP.

Saif al-Islam is a fluent English speaker, who studied at the London School of Economics and is currently wanted by the International Criminal Courts for his crimes against humanity in the Gadhafi regime. Niger's government has said that members of the Gadhafi regime wanted by the International Criminal will be turned over to the world body.

Another of Gadhafi's sons, Al-Saadi is subject of a United Nations sanction and is therefore being held under house arrest.

It is extremely difficult to track Said al-Islam's movement and stop him from crossing out of Libya, an NTC official told Reuters. It is a dessert region and has many exits.

The region is very, very difficult to monitor and encircle. It needs warplanes. Even NATO cannot monitor this area. It needs a large force of our brigades to intercept and to be able to monitor and hunt him down. It is very, very difficult. All we have there is some small-scale patrols of our fighters, he said.

Gadhafi was captured and killed last Thursday after being shot in the head and legs b Libyan fighters in his hometown of Sirte. Videos have been circulating the Internet depicted the dictator covered in blood, his body half naked being scorned by the rebel cause.

It's time to start a new Libya, a united Libya, Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril declared. One people, one future. Libya's liberation was formally announced on Saturday by Libyan officials.