Gaddafi spy chief held in Mauritania
Tripoli, 18 Mar – (ANA) - The Libyan authorities have confirmed the arrest in Mauritania of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's intelligence chief.
Mauritanian security officials said Abdullah al-Senussi was detained at Nouakchott airport. Senussi, 63, was Gaddafi's brother-in-law, and has been described as one of his most trusted aides. He fled Libya when Gaddafi was ousted and killed last year after an uprising and months of fighting. The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant for his arrest last year for crimes against humanity.
France said the arrest was carried out in a joint operation between French and Mauritanian authorities, and President Nicolas Sarkozy said he would request Senussi's extradition. A French court convicted the former spy chief of involvement in a 1989 attack on a French plane that killed 170 people, and sentenced him to life in prison. But Libyan authorities are also demanding his extradition.
Mauritania has not signed the ICC's statute, and it is unclear what the country intends to do with Senussi. British Foreign Secretary William Hague said he welcomed the reports of Senussi's arrest and urged all involved to co-operate with the ICC. (ANA)
FA/ANA/18 March 2012-------