Libya conflict: Army convoy crosses border into Niger

Libyan rebels have made major advances in recent days

A Libyan army convoy has crossed the desert border into Niger, reports say.

The vehicles rolled into the town of Agadez; one report said they were accompanied by well-armed Tuareg tribal fighters.
Earlier, Col Gaddafi's spokesman said he was in "excellent health" and still in Libya.
Col Gaddafi has vowed to fight to the death despite major advances of Libyan rebels, who now control most Libya's key cities, including Tripoli.
In a separate development, documents uncovered in Tripoli show a close relationship between Western intelligence agencies and Col Gaddafi's government, which is known to have used torture, the rebels say.
The documents mention the names of several people targeted for rendition - the extrajudicial arrest and transfer of terrorism suspects.
'In high spirits' The Libyan convoy crossed the Niger border and arrived in Agadez late on Monday, military sources from France and Niger told Reuters.

They said the convoy was made up of between 200 and 250 vehicles and was given an escort by the army of Niger.
However, a local resident was quoted by the Associated Press as saying that convoy consisted of more than a dozen trucks carrying well-armed Libyan troops.
He added that the Libyans were also accompanied by well-armed Tuareg tribal fighters.
The claims by both the military sources and the Niger resident have not been independently verified.
Meanwhile Col Gaddafi's chief of security, Mansour Daw, is reported to have crossed into Niger.
Earlier on Monday, Col Gaddafi's spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said that the Libyan leader was "in very high spirits".
"He is in a place that will not be reached by those fractious groups, and he is in Libya," Mr Ibrahim told Syrian-based Arrai TV.
Fears of revenge Libyan rebels from the National Transitional Council (NTC) have now moved into position near Bani Walid, 150km (95 miles) south-east of Tripoli.
Bani Walid is one of four towns and cities - the others are Jufra, Sabha and Col Gaddafi's

Senior members of the anti-Gaddafi forces surrounding the town say the negotiations have now stopped - and were never serious because pro-Gaddafi forces continued to fire while the talks were going on.

However, NTC leader Abdul Jalil said the talks would continue until a deadline on Saturday.
Mr Jalil said the pro-Gaddafi bastions were being given humanitarian aid and time to surrender "to avoid further bloodshed".
Abdullah Kenchil, one of the negotiators, told the BBC the loyalists had wanted anti-Gaddafi forces to enter the town unarmed.
He said he feared civilians could be shot in revenge or used as human shields.
As well as being a Gaddafi stronghold, Bani Walid is also the home of the biggest and most powerful Libyan tribe, the Warfalla.
Mr Kenchil said his son Saif al-Islam Gaddafi had only left the town on Saturday, heading to an unknown destination further south.
For now, the NTC is preaching a gospel of reconciliation, says BBC Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen, who is Tripoli. The NTC does not want to start off as a government with a bloody fight in Bani Walid, he adds.

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