Kiwis 'among mercenaries who helped Gaddafi's son flee to Niger'

Muammar Gaddafi. Photo / AP

Former New Zealand soldiers were part of a team protecting one of Muammar Gaddafi's sons as he escaped from Libya last month, an Australian mercenary claims.

Former Australian soldier Gary Peters made the revelations while describing the efforts to get Saadi Gaddafi across Libya's southern border to Niger.

After he left the army Mr Peters, now living in Canada, was working as a private security contractor and was hired as Saadi Gaddafi's bodyguard.

He told Canada's National Post newspaper the Saadi Gaddafi security team also included former special service forces soldiers from New Zealand, Australia, Iraq and Russia.

He had provided security services to Gaddafi family members since 2004, and continued to do so during Nato's campaign to oust the late dictator, he told the newspaper.

Though he worked mostly for Saadi, he also guarded Gaddafi's other sons, Seif al-Islam and Hannibal, and said he had escorted Hannibal and his sister Aisha from Libya to Algeria in a convoy.

The team had moved Saadi Gaddafi to Niger, and were returning to Libya when gunmen opened fire on their three-vehicle convoy.

"The convoy got attacked and two of us got hit," he said, not elaborating on the nationality of his injured colleague.

He said he made his way to Tunisia and Frankfurt, then got on a flight to Toronto.

"I bled on the plane. I fell asleep and when I woke up - I felt a trickle and there was blood everywhere. There was a little bit of shrapnel in there."

He got to the airport parking lot before he became weak from blood loss. He was taken to a nearby hospital to have the shrapnel removed.

Mr Peters said he met Saadi Gaddafi while in the Australian Army. He was visiting the Sydney 2000 Olympics and Mr Peters was assigned to protect him.

Mr Peters had met Muammar Gaddafi and said he was intimidating and hostile. Saadi Gaddafi was "a very nice man, very educated. However, don't p*** them off, very revengeful people."