Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi may soon hand over power to the justice minister and leave the country, the Albawaba news portal said citing top military sources.

A source said the embattled leader is ready to hand over power to Justice Minister Muhammad Alqamoda and go into exile on the condition that NATO immediately ends its military mission in the country.

The deal was reportedly discussed on Monday in southern Tunisia, during secret talks between Gaddafi envoys and the Transitional National Council, the supreme political body of the Libyan opposition.

The talks, which the rebel government denies, are said to be attended by representatives of Venezuela, which is ready to accept Gaddafi and his relatives.

The source added that a plane to transport Gaddafi and his family members to Venezuela is possibly already being prepared at a Tripoli airport.

Other sources said Gaddafi is sick and requires urgent medical treatment outside Libya. The Libyan leader's chief aide, Bashir Saleh, met with representatives of the United Kingdom and France in Tunisia to discuss possible ways of taking Gaddafi and his family out of Libya.

An uprising which began in Libya in mid-February against Gaddafi's forty-year rule has already claimed thousands of lives. An international military operation "to protect civilians" in Libya began on March 19 following a UN resolution and has been extended until late September.