BANI WALID, Libya, Sept. 6 (UPI) -- Rebel leaders said deals were struck with tribal leaders for the surrender of Bani Walid, one of the remaining strongholds for Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.
Meanwhile, Gadhafi remains out of the public eye and speculation about his whereabouts grows, the latest report being he was in a convoy crossing the Sahara Desert in Niger, The Daily Telegraph reported.
However, Nigerien Foreign Minister Mohamed Bazoum said Gadhafi was not in the convoy. However, Gadhafi's intelligence chief, Mansour Daw, was in the caravan, a Niger radio broadcast said.
"It is not true," Bazoum said of the chatter. "It is not Gadhafi and I do not think the convoy was of the size attributed to it."
U.S. officials had said they didn't believe Gadhafi was in the convoy and was still hiding out in Libya.
"Our ambassador in Niger has been in touch with Nigerien officials today to discuss this convoy," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said during the daily media briefing. "Apparently, a convoy has entered, and it does include some senior members of the Gadhafi regime, but we do not believe that Gadhafi himself was among them."
Nuland said the United States urged Nigerien officials to detain those members of the regime "who may be subject to prosecution," confiscate any weapons and impound any state property "so that it can be returned to the Libyan people."
She said the convoy appeared to include senior members of military but did not know whether any of Gadhafi's family was in the caravan.
Col. Ahmed Omar Bani, a rebel military spokesman, confirmed to the Telegraph that a deal was struck between the rebels' National Transitional Council and tribal leaders for the peaceful handover of Bani Walid.
Rebel leaders outlined plans to restore water supplies and electricity to the city.
The spokesman said rebels were optimistic Sirte, Gadhafi's birthplace, would surrender by the end of the week.
Concerning reports that Gadhafi was heading to Burkina Faso, which had offered him asylum, the BBC said Burkina Faso officials were vague about reports.
"We have no such information at the moment," a government official said. "Obviously, if they cross our border, we will find out. ... We are simply going to monitor the situation throughout the day."
Gadhafi's wife Safiya, daughter Aisha, and two sons, Mohammed and Hannibal, fled to Algeria after Tripoli fell two weeks ago.
Gadhafi, 69, has broadcast defiance even after being forced into hiding two weeks ago, and has vowed to die fighting on Libyan soil.
Libyan rebel officials said Monday water service was restored to Tripoli. The transitional government's acting economic minister said badly needed cash was flowing in from abroad after some of the country's foreign bank accounts were unfrozen, The New York Times reported.
