instead and avoid any chance of meeting the same grisly end as his father, Libyan officials said.
An official of the ruling National Transitional Council (NTC) said on Wednesday that Saif al-Islam, the only one of
Muammar Gaddafi's eight children still on the run, had proposed surrendering to the International Criminal Court (ICC),
which has indicted him for war crimes.
Surrender by 39-year-old Saif al-Islam would close another chapter in the four-decade history of Gaddafi family rule, as
the United Nations discusses an end to its Libyan mandate that allowed Nato to bomb the country and help rebels to
take power.
He was widely seen as Muammar Gaddafi's favoured son and his heir apparent.
Saif al-Islam wanted to surrender to the Dutch-based ICC with his relative, former intelligence chief Abdullah al-
Senussi, said Abdel Majid Mlegta, an official of the NTC which overran the last Muammar Gaddafi stronghold of Sirte a
week ago.
"They are proposing a way to hand themselves over to The Hague," said Mlegta.
The ICC indicted Muammar Gaddafi, Saif al-Islam and Senussi for their roles in using force to try to put down the
uprising which began in February.
An ICC spokesperson said it had no confirmation of any talks about Saif al-Islam's surrender.
Another u-turn
NTC officials have said Saif al-Islam is hiding in Libya's southern desert after failing to find a safe haven in a
neighbouring country like Algeria or Niger, which have offered refuge to the other four Gaddafi children who survived
the eight-month civil war.
Any surrender would mark a U-turn by Saif al-Islam, an internationally well-connected philanthropist and liberal reformer
who turned abruptly into a soldier ready to die rather than capitulate when rebels rose up against his father.
"We fight here in Libya; we die here in Libya," he told Reuters Television in an interview earlier this year.
He now appears to prefer the prospect of a Dutch prison cell rather than risk falling into the hands of NTC forces.
NTC fighters seized Muammar Gaddafi last week after they overran his hometown of Sirte. Within hours he was dead,
although it remains unclear who killed him, and his rotting corpse was put on public display for four days before being
buried in a secret desert grave on Tuesday.
At the United Nations, envoys said the Security Council planned to end the UN authorisation this week for a no-fly zone
and Nato intervention in Libya despite calls from the NTC for it to wait.
The Security Council made the authorisation in March to protect Libyans from the forces that Muammar Gaddafi had
deployed to suppress pro-democracy uprisings across the country.
Libya's people were "looking forward to terminating the no-fly zone over Libya as well as terminating the mandate
accorded by Security Council resolution 1973 to protect civilians as soon as possible", Libyan Deputy UN Ambassador
Ibrahim Dabbashi told the 15-nation council on Wednesday.
Security situation
"In accordance with the initial assessments, the date of October 31 is a logical date to terminate this mandate," he
said.
But he said the NTC had not yet made an official decision on whether to request termination of the UN mandate, which
authorised members of Nato and other UN member states to take "all necessary measures" to protect Libyan civilians.
Nato bombing prevented Muammar Gaddafi's forces from taking the rebel stronghold of Benghazi and allowed often
disorganised rebel units to eventually control the whole county.
Dabbashi said the government needed more time to assess the security situation in Libya and its ability to monitor its
borders.
Western diplomats said issues the NTC had suggested it would like Nato to help with, including border security, fell
outside the UN mandate to protect civilians and enforce a no-fly zone.
"The job was to protect civilians and from Nato's point of view, that mission has been accomplished," a diplomat told
Reuters on condition of anonymity. "There's no point in delaying termination of the mandate."
| Posted: at | |
EMMYBOSS
TRENDING GISTS 
Crystal Palace v Manchester Utd: English Premier League Match,Team News,Goal Scorers and Stats
Former Kano State Governor, Shekarau’s Residence Razed By Inferno
Heartbroken Father Mourns His 14yr Old Daughter Who Was Reportedly Poisoned in School
Nigeria's VP, Shettima Departs Abuja For 2024 US-Africa Business Summit in Dallas
Moment Canadian Mayor Praises Tinubu For Work Done in Lagos While Honouring Peter Obi at Event
Yvonne Jegede Reveals The Truth About Colleague, Mercy Johnson, While Calling Her Out (Video)