BRUSSELS - A NATO spokesman said on Tuesday that the military alliance was not tracking ousted Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi, following rumors of a Libyan military convoy with Gadhafi aboard crossing into Niger.

"To be clear, our mission is to protect the civilian population in Libya, not to track and target thousands of fleeing former regime leaders, mercenaries, military commanders and internally displaced people," said Colonel Roland Lavoie, the spokesman for NATO's Libya mission.

"NATO continuously receives reports and inputs from various sources regarding weapons, vehicles and even convoys of vehicles moving throughout Libya. We do not discuss the intelligence and surveillance information we collect," he said.

NATO has repeatedly denied targeting Gadhafi and other officials of his regime, insisting that its Libya mission is aimed at civilian protection.

A large military convoy from Libya reportedly arrived in the city of Agadez in northern Niger late Monday. It is rumored that Gadhafi or one of his sons were traveling in the convoy.