Libya said on Sunday it was sending a delegation to Mauritania to press for the extradition of Muammar Qadhafi's intelligence chief Abdallah al-Senussi and Interpol called for his handover to promote rule of law in the North African state.
Senussi, 62, the last significant Qadhafi associate on the run since the dictator's overthrow and death in a popular revolt last year, was arrested in the West African state after his arrival late on Friday on a flight from Morocco.
Senussi was being held at the headquarters of the Mauritania's security service in the capital Nouakchott, sources there said, and diplomatic sources said he was carrying several false passports when detained.
Despite support from Interpol, Libya's interim government may get embroiled in a legal tug-of-war with France and the International Criminal Court (ICC) over Senussi as they also want to put him on trial.
Senussi, who for decades inspired fear and hatred among many Libyans, is sought by the Hague-based ICC on charges of crimes against humanity over security force attacks on anti-Qadhafi protesters during the eight-month uprising.
Interpol, the international police organisation based in Lyon, France, said it had issued a Red Notice for Senussi at Libya's behest requesting member states to arrest him, if found on their soil, for fraud offences including embezzling public funds and misuse of power for personal benefit.
A Libyan government spokesman said on Saturday Tripoli had sent a request for Senussi's handover through Interpol, while France had filed a competing extradition request, according to a presidential palace source.
Interpol previously circulated a Red Notice for Senussi at the ICC's request in September 2011 for crimes against humanity.
"Interpol has committed itself to supporting Libya's efforts to achieve its goal of rebuilding their country and being guided by the rule of law, and clearly their request for an Interpol Red Notice for Senussi is a clear demonstration of their commitment to international police co-operation and justice," the agency's chief Ronald Noble said in a statement. "Targeting and arresting those involved in embezzling funds and making them accountable for their actions before the courts will help Libya achieve its goal," said Noble.
The Libyan interim authorities' struggle to bring rival militias - who were instrumental in Qadhafi's overthrow - and tribes under control has raised doubt about their ability to assure fair trials for old regime figures.
But Tripoli has insisted Senussi would get proper justice there, while France, confirming it played a role in his arrest in Mauritania, wants to try him for the 1989 bombing of an airliner over Niger in which 54 French nationals died.
Libyan foreign ministry spokesman Saad Elshlmani said the ministry was in touch with its Mauritanian counterpart, adding that a delegation would head for Mauritania, possibly including the deputy prime minister.
Asked when the delegation would go, Elshlmani said: "Soon".
France, which led Western backing for the insurgency that toppled Qadhafi with the help of Nato air strikes, said it had cooperated with Mauritanian authorities on the apprehension of Senussi ahead of its extradition request.
A statement from President Nicolas Sarkozy's office noted Senussi had been sentenced in absentia for the UTA airliner attack, in which 170 people were killed. Families of the victims immediately demanded he face justice in France.