Pretoria - Libya's National Transitional Council (NTC) say they will demand the Algerian government to hand over Muammar Gaddafi's family so that they can be trialed in Libyan courts.
Algeria's Foreign Ministry on Monday said that Gaddafi's wife Safia, his daughter Aisha, his sons Hannibal and Mohammed, accompanied by their children, entered Algeria at 8:45am local time (0745 GMT) through the Algerian-Libyan border, the statement said.
However, it did not mention the whereabouts of Gaddafi himself.
According to the statement, the Algerian government informed the UN and NTC about the Gaddafis' arrival.
According to media reports from Algeria, a total of 31 persons including the Gaddafis, their servants and drivers in seven SUVs, entered Algeria from western Libya. They waited 12 hours on the border to get permission to enter the country.
It is reported that Gaddafi's daughter Aisha is weak, being in the ninth month of her pregnancy, and that the Algerian government let the motorcade on humanitarian grounds.
It also said that Algeria is not violating any international laws or UN rules as the International Criminal Court had only issued arrest warrants for Gaddafi, his son Saif al-Islam Gaddafi and intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi, who were not in the motorcade.
Some local sources said the Gaddafis will very likely stay in Algeria's southeastern province of Illizi, which borders Libya, and not head to the capital Algiers.
Meanwhile, the rebels are almost certain that Gaddafi's son Khamis and his intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi have been killed during fighting with their units.
Colonel AlMahdi Al-Hara-gi, in charge of the Rebel Tripoli Brigade, said he had confirmation that Khamis was badly wounded in the clash near Ben Walid and Tarhoni. He was taken to a hospital but died of his wounds and was buried shortly after in the same area later.
If true, their deaths would mark the highest-profile casualties on the Gaddafi side since an uprising began six months ago.
