Algeria's Foreign Ministry said Gaddafi's wife Safia, his daughter Aisha and his sons Hannibal and Mohammed had entered Algeria on the morning of August 29.

The development threatened to create a diplomatic rift just as the rebel National Transitional Council (NTC) worked to consolidate its position as Libya's new government.

An NTC spokesman accused Algeria, Libya's western neighbour, of an act of aggression and said the council would seek to extradite the Gaddafis.

A senior rebel officer also said Gaddafi's son Khamis, a military commander, had been killed in a clash outside of Tripoli. The report could not be independently confirmed.

Meanwhile rebel forces converged on Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte from east and west, intent on seizing one of his last bastions of support either by force or by negotiation.

Reuters