Libyan leader Moamer Gaddafi's interior minister arrived in Cairo from Tripoli on his private plane on Monday, telling airport security he had come for a "tourism visit," airport sources said.
Nasr Mabrouk Abdullah was accompanied by nine members of his family. No members of the Libyan embassy in Cairo were present to receive him, DPA reported.
His visit comes amid rumours that he is attempting to escape from Tripoli.
Abdullah was appointed by Gaddafi in June after the then interior minister Abdul Fatah Younis defected and joined the rebels fighting government troops.
Younis was recently killed by Islamists, who were fighting along with the rebels.
Abdullah was interior minister in 2006 and has held other senior security posts.
Meanwhile, Gaddafi said earlier Monday that "the end of the colonizer is close and the end of the rats is close."
"The colonizer and its agents are resorting to lies and psychological warfare after all the wars with all the weapons have failed," Gaddafi was quoted as saying by the Libyan News Agency JANA, as he referred to NATO forces and opposition fighters.
His latest verbal attack on the rebels came as they reportedly made advances in several towns, especially in the western part of the country, while residents in Tripoli say they now hear gun fire exchange every night.
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