Kadhafi and his sons Saadi and Seif al-Islam were reportedly holed-up in the town of Bani Walid, south of the capital Tripoli, Italian news agency ANSA said, citing "authoritative Libyan diplomatic sources".

Algiers confirmed that Kadhafi's wife Safiya, two sons, a daughter and their children, had crossed the border into the country, prompting the rebels' National Transitional Council (NTC) to demand their return.

"The wife of Moamer Kadhafi, Safiya, his daughter Aisha, and sons Hannibal and Mohammed, accompanied by their children, entered Algeria at 8:45 am (0745 GMT) through the Algeria-Libyan border," the Algerian foreign ministry said in a statement carried by the state APS news agency, giving no information on the whereabouts of Kadhafi himself.