Gaddafi`s wanted cousin arrested in Cairo

Cairo: The Egyptian authorities on Tuesday arrested late Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi`s cousin Ahmed Qaddaf al-Dam in Cairo.

Ahmed is wanted in Libya for his role in the regime of the slain Libyan strongman. Qaddaf al-Dam was forced to surrender following a heavy exchange of gunfire between his bodyguards and Egyptian policemen who tried to enter his apartment. Police then escorted Gaddafi`s former special envoy to the public prosecutor`s office. He, however, sought to downplay his arrest and said that he would file a complaint with the Egyptian public prosecutor and Libyan authorities. "I am on my way now, in the company of lawyers," he said before arriving at the prosecutor`s office. A security official and state television said Qaddaf al-Dam gave himself up to police after they besieged his home. The official MENA news agency said he would be handed over to the Libyan authorities, who want to put him on trial. It was not immediately clear whether Qaddaf al-Dam, whose mother was Egyptian, carried Egyptian nationality, which could complicate his transfer to Libya to stand trial. A Libyan embassy official said he was certain Qaddaf al-Dam was not an Egyptian citizen before the 2011 uprising that toppled Kadhafi. But his nephew said he carried with him an Egyptian national identity card. With Agency inputs