This fugitive has plenty of places to seek refuge

EVEN after rebels stormed into the capital and overwhelmed his residence, Muammar Gaddafi had plenty of places to hide.

Underground, is one option. He is known to have deep bunkers under his Bab al-Aziziya compound in Tripoli.

Some former officials say the compound is connected by tunnels to far-flung parts of Tripoli in a hidden network, providing a quick escape route.

Few have seen the tunnels. But the reported “underground city” fits in with the aura that Gaddafi cultivated, a mix of subterfuge, rumour and myth that kept Libya’s people guessing and his opponents confused. That aura — plus a dose of brutal retaliation — helped him survive dozens of assassination attempts and would-be coups during his decades in power.

During the six-month-old uprising, Gaddafi showed an almost wraithlike elusiveness, making sudden appearances in public, then vanishing.

And after rebels overran much of Tripoli early on Monday, he once more became Gaddafi the ghost. Many rebels were convinced he was holed up in the Bab al-Aziziya compound – one senior official, Fathi al-Baja, said there were reports Gaddafi, who is almost 70, had suffered a heart attack and was bedridden in the compound.

When rebels overran it on Tuesday, they found hoards of weapons, one of the golf carts Gaddafi used to get around, the Bedouin tents where Gaddafi held court. But no Gaddafi. It is not known if he was there and escaped or if he was never there at all.

“There are so many rat holes in Tripoli. We are searching for him in the holes,” said Col Ahmed Bani, a rebel military spokesman.

As long as Gaddafi remains at large, he holds the potential to strike back. Pro-Gaddafi forces remain on Tripoli’s outskirts, capable of striking at any time, rebels say. The whereabouts of two of Gaddafi’s sons who command elite units — Khamis and Muatassim — are equally unknown.

Two major cities also remain in the hands of Gaddafi: his hometown Sirte, on the Mediterranean coast east of Tripoli, and Sebha, deep in the desert 400 miles south of Tripoli. Sebha is site of a significant military and air force base and, if Gaddafi can reach it, would provide him desert escape routes into Niger and Chad.

Bani said it was possible Gaddafi was in Sebha, though “this is just one of the many possibilities.” Rebel officials and Sebha residents have reported clashes in the city between Gaddafi supporters and opponents since Tripoli’s fall.

During the past few months of Nato airstrikes — including on targets in Tripoli — Gaddafi is believed by rebels to have been in constant motion, though once again discerning fact from legend about his movements is difficult.

And Gaddafi basked in the aura of mystery. “I am in a place where you can’t reach me,” he said in an audio message aired on state TV weeks ago. “I live in the hearts of the millions.”

During the uprising, Gaddafi surprised his supporters by appearing on the ramparts of the historic Red Fort in Tripoli’s main square to deliver an address to the crowd. Former regime insiders have said a tunnel links the fort to Bab al-Aziziya, about 2 miles away.

Extensive preparations and deep secrecy were typical of a leader who was bunkered down against swirling plots around him.

Bani, who was a colonel in Gaddafi’s air forces before he joined the opposition and became the rebels’ chief military spokesman, estimated that Gaddafi survived 52 assassination attempts and failed coups. .

Meanwhile, Burkina Faso, a former recipient of large amounts of Libyan aid, has offered exile to Gaddafi.

Burkinabe Foreign Minister Yipene Djibril Bassolet said Gaddafi could go into exile in his country even though it is a signatory of the International Criminal Court, which has charged him with crimes against humanity.