Libya urged Niger on Saturday to extradite Muammar Qadhafi's son Saadi, saying his call for Libyans to prepare for a "coming uprising" threatened bilateral ties. In response, Niger pledged to tighten house surveillance of Saadi, who fled south to the West African state in September as Libyan rebels gained the upper hand over Qadhafi's forces. But it reiterated that Saadi could not be handed over to a state where he could face execution.
In a telephone call to Al Arabiya television late on Friday, Saadi said that he was in regular contact with people in Libya who were unhappy with the authorities put in place after the ousting and killing of his father. "The council demands that the Niger government extradite Saadi and those who are with him to the Libyan authorities as soon as possible to maintain the relationship with the Libyan people," National Transitional Council spokesman Mohammed al-Harizy said, reading out a statement to reporters.
"They should follow the Algerian government which prevented Qadhafi's daughter from making statements or causing any trouble from their land," he said, adding that NTC Chairman Mustafa Abdel Jalil had called Niger's president to discuss Saadi. Algeria ordered members of Qadhafi's family in exile on its territory to stay out of politics, after Qadhafi's daughter Aisha angered the Libyan government by telling the media her father was still fighting to hold onto power.
The Libyan News Agency LANA said Niger's Foreign Minister Bazoum Mohamed and his Libyan counterpart Ashour Bin Hayal had spoken by phone, and quoted Bin Hayal as saying Saadi's comments "threaten the bilateral relationship between the two countries".
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