Manama: Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's daughter, Aisha, gave birth to a baby girl just hours after being allowed into Algeria, alongside her mother Safiya, brothers Mohammad and Hannibal, nieces, nephews and helpers.
"Aisha gave birth to the girl at around 2 am," Algerian daily Echorouk reported in its online edition on Monday. "The baby was named after her grandmother Safiya, and both she and the mother are doing fine, unlike media reports that the mother was in a critical condition," according to the report.
Echorouk reported that a seven-vehicle convoy carrying 31 asylum seekers, including members of the Gaddafi family, had arrived from Libya to Illizi, the province bordering Libya but had to wait for around 12 hours before they were allowed in.
Echorouk, quoting sources it did not identify, reported that Aisha was nine-month pregnant and was in a critical condition, a fact that weighed heavily in the decision made by the Algerian authorities to provide assistance and allow the convoy in on humanitarian ground.
The daily said that Algeria also based its decision to receive the high-profile fugitives on the fact that neither Gaddafi's wife nor two sons or daughter were wanted by the The Hague-based International Criminal Court.
The court had approved warrants for the arrest of Gaddafi, his son Saif Al Islam, and Libyan intelligence chief Abdullah Al Senoussi on charges of crimes against humanity.
The family members and their helpers are expected to remain in Illizi. The sources ruled out they would be moved up to Algiers, the capital.
Libyan rebels, however, are now demanding that Algeria return the fugitives for trial.
