Libya says Gaddafi spy chief arrested in Mauritania

NOUAKCHOTT/TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Mauritania arrested Muammar Gaddafi's ex-spy chief, Abdullah al-Senussi, after he arrived on an overnight flight, officials said on Saturday, triggering a three-way tussle for his extradition.

Senussi, who for decades before the late dictator's fall inspired fear and hatred in ordinary Libyans, is sought by the Hague-based International Criminal Court on charges of crimes against humanity during last year's conflict.

But Libya's new rulers insisted he would have a fair trial there, while France - confirming it played a role in his arrest - stressed his alleged role in the 1989 bombing of an airliner over Niger in which 54 French nationals died.

"Today we confirm the news of the arrest of Abdullah al-Senussi," Libyan government spokesman Nasser al-Manee told a news conference in Tripoli.

"He was arrested this morning in Nouakchott airport and there was a young man with him. We think it is his son," he said, confirming a Mauritanian state news agency report earlier that Senussi had been arrested with a false Malian passport arriving from Casablanca, Morocco.

France, which led Western backing for the popular uprising that toppled Gaddafi, said it had cooperated with Mauritanian authorities over the arrest and that it would send an arrest warrant to Mauritania "in the next few hours".

A statement from President Nicolas Sarkozy's office noted Senussi had been sentenced in absentia for the 1989 bombing of a UTA airliner, in which a total 170 people were killed. Families of the victims immediately demanded he face justice in France.

"For the time being, there is an ICC arrest warrant for him, and the court requests it to be implemented. This remains valid, unless the ICC judges decide otherwise," ICC spokesman Fadi El-Abdallah said.

However Mauritania is not a signatory to the Rome Statute governing the ICC and Libya's government spokesman Manee also confirmed it had sought the extradition of Senussi, the last key figure of Gaddafi's regime still at large.

"The Libyan foreign ministry is in touch with Mauritania about the procedure. The Libyan government is ready to receive Abdullah al-Senussi...and give him a fair trial in Libya," he said.

Mohammed al-Harizy, spokesman for the National Transitional Council, also told a news conference that Libya would insist that Senussi be handed over to Libyan authorities.

"We insist that Senussi is extradited to Libya," he said. "There are demands from the ICC and France to get Senussi but the priority is to deliver Senussi to Libya."

Human Rights Watch said he should be handed over to the ICC.

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