Rebels say no firm information on Gaddafi location

By Emma Farge and Alex Dziadosz

BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - Libya's rebels have no concrete information on the location of Muammar Gaddafi or his sons, Mustafa Abdel Jalil, chairman of the rebel National Transitional Council (NTC), said on Saturday.

Rebel fighters who took control of the Libyan capital this week say Gaddafi and his sons are in hiding and have offered a $1.3 million reward and amnesty from prosecution for anyone who kills or captures him.

Egypt's state news agency sparked a new round of speculation about his whereabouts when it quoted a Libyan rebel source as saying a convoy of six armoured Mercedes cars which crossed from Libya into Algeria may have been carrying Gaddafi.

Rebel officials and fighters have said on several occasions they know where he is and have him cornered, but those assertions have later turned out to be wrong.

"We have no factual report about the whereabouts of Gaddafi and his sons," Abdel Jalil said.

Speaking at a news conference, he said the council might consider inviting police officers from Arab or Muslim states to Libya to held with security, but did not want a police presence from any other nations.

He also said that anyone who had worked in a senior posiiton for Gaddafi and had not defected by now to the rebel cause "will not be allowed to have a place in the future Libya, politically speaking."

Rebel commanders are still negotiating with Gaddafi loyalists to try to persuade them to surrender control over the city of Sirte, Gaddafi's home town about 500 km (310 miles) east of Tripoli, Abdel Jalil said.