Muammar Gaddafi is believed to be hiding near the western Libyan town of Ghadamis under the protection of Touareg tribesmen, a senior Libyan military official said.

"One tribe, the Touareg, is still supporting him and he is believed to be in the Ghadamis area in the south," Hisham Buhagiar, a senior military official of the Libya's new leadership, told Reuters.