Mohammed Gaddafi, a son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi,  has escaped after having been arrested by rebels in Tripoli, a senior rebel source told AFP.

"Yes, it's truce, he has escaped," the source in the rebel capital of Benghazi, eastern Libya, said on condition of anonymity.

Mohammed, Gaddafi's eldest son, and brother Seif al-Islam, who was regarded as the veteran leader's intended successor, were arrested on Sunday as rebels seized control of large swathes of Tripoli.

"Mohammed and Seif al-Islam are under the control of our revolutionaries and are in a safe hands," rebel leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil told a press conference in Benghazi earlier on Monday.

Mohammed is regarded as a leading businessman rather than a political figure in Gaddafi's regime.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.