Rebels at odds over Gaddafi’s whereabouts, council claims dictator is 'surrounded'

Associated Press reports that libyan fighters have surrounded ousted dictator Moammar Gaddafi, and are claiming that it is only a matter of time until he is captured or killed.

AP is attributing the information to Anis Sharif, a spokesman for Tripoli's new military council.

Anis Sharif told AP that Gaddafi was still in Libya and had been tracked using advanced technology and human intelligence.

He added that rebel forces have taken up positions on all sides of Gaddafi presumed location, with none more than 40 miles (60 kilometers) away, he said, without providing details.

"He can't get out," said Sharif, who added the former rebels are preparing to either detain him or kill him. "We are just playing games with him," Sharif said.

Earlier, reports surfaced of how Gaddafi was rumoured to be fleeing towards Southern Libya, taking refuge in tents and moving from place to place with an armoured car convoy.

The statements seemingly contradict others by the council's deputy defense minister who had said that Libya's former rebels had no idea where Gaddafi was, and they were focusing on taking control of territory instead of tracking down the former leader.

Deputy Defense Minister Mohammad Tanaz told the AP that the former rebels don't know where Gadhafi is, and the fugitive could still be hiding in tunnels under Tripoli.

These conflicting statements are but a few from a whole series of similarly contradictory information about Gaddafi;’s presumed whereabouts, which have been thick since the fall of the capital last month.

Many reports about his location have however proven untrue.

In the meantime, Reuters is reporting how hundreds Libyans who fled the fighting are returning from Benghazi to Tripoli after rebels cemented their grip on the port city and most parts of Libya.

A total of 800 people arrived at Tripoli main port on Wednesday after spending more than 24 hours travelling by ship from Bengazi, one of the first towns to defy the 42 year old rule of Muammar Gaddafi.