UN urges restraint as the rebels wreak their revenge on 'loyalists'

The killings were pitiless.

They had taken place at a makeshift hospital, in a tent marked clearly with the symbols of the Islamic Crescent. Some of the dead were on stretchers, attached to intravenous drips. Some were on the back of an ambulance that had been shot at. A few were on the ground, seemingly attempting to crawl to safety when the bullets came.

Around 30 men lay decomposing in the heat. Many of them had their hands tied behind their back, either with plastic handcuffs or ropes. One had a scarf stuffed into his mouth. Almost all of the victims were black men. Their bodies had been dumped near the scene of two of the fierce battles between rebel and regime forces in Tripoli

 

Death rains from above on Tripoli's streets

"Kadhafi is killing all the people, please help us," a Tripoli man wept after his family was wiped out by a mortar that hit his house near the Libyan leader's Bab al-Azizya compound on Tuesday.
The man stumbled through the dusty, empty streets of a district around two kilometres (over a mile) to the west of Bab al-Azizya, where rebel fighters massed at a nearby school said they would march on the compound imminently.
"It will all be over in 30 minutes, God willing" said Mohammed, his optimism undimmed by the drawn out finale of the Libyan revolution that most hoped would be over already, three days after the freedom fighters entered the capital.
With the rebels piling toward the heavily fortified compound, poorly armed and trained men are left to look after many city checkpoints, hoping for reinforcements amid confusion over who controls what in the battle-scarred city.
Salah is a 20-year-old former Kadhafi conscript who deserted the loyalist forces six weeks ago to join the revolution. He holds a 9 mm pistol in one hand, and a crutch in the other to relieve his foot injured in fighting with rebels.
"We are protecting the area now, it is under our control while they attack Bab al-Azizya. We are waiting for support to come from Zawiya (40 kilometres to the west)," he said, as flies buzzed around his unhealed wound.
"I don't know when they will arrive."
"The rebels will attack the compound with tanks from Misrata (to the east)," he said, something that could complicate NATO's precision air strikes on Kadhafi's armour.
NATO jets could be heard screaming almost constantly overhead on Tuesday, much more than on previous days, an AFP correspondent reported.
Every time the distinctive boom of their bombs is heard, people throughout the city cry "Allahu Akbar," each bomb felt as another step taken towards liberty.
A group of women and girls moves down one of the city's streets, turning to smile and flash V-for-Victory signs at the men who are defending their homes.
Babies cannot sleep and scream their wakefulness every time there is a nearby gunshot. And the gunshots are constant and everywhere.
Until Monday, long-bearded Samir Chakara was a prisoner of Kadhafi's regime at Ain Zara prison, from where rebels have just freed him and 900 others.
"I was arrested for taking part in demonstrations. They were looking for me everywhere and eventually found me, three-and-a-half months ago."
In pre-revolutionary times, he was a specialised printer, producing chequebooks, hologrammed material and the like. Today he is a former political prisoner turned freedom fighter, manning a checkpoint in the tense urban sprawl.
Fellow former political prisoner Abdel Fatah shows the unhealed welts on his wrists, from when he was chained up for several hours a day.
"While chained, they would hit me in the back with rifle butts, spit at me and insult me," he said.
Behind him pro-regime graffiti daubed on a shop wall reads "God, religion, Kadhafi, Libya." The 'Kadhafi' has now been crossed out with a thick brush of black paint.
Another piece of crossed-out pro-regime graffiti says "All Libyans are rats."
"You see how mad he is?" a nearby youth says of the veteran leader.
The rumour mill is in full swing, as news spread by word of mouth.
The mobile phone network comes and goes. There is no electricity for television. Few fighters have walkie-talkies or satellite telephones. Today, most Libyans can only wait, hope and pray, as the final assault begins.

 

rebels surround apartment block 'hiding' Col Gaddafi

1,000 opposition fighters surrounded an apartment block near Gaddafi’s former headquarters in the Libyan capital, where they exchanged fire with loyalists following unconfirmed reports that the despot was inside with some of his sons.
It also emerged that the rebels might have been only hours away from catching Gaddafi at another address in Tripoli where he is believed to have spent the night.
Gaddafi made yet another television broadcast to urge his remaining supporters to “purify” the capital of “rats”, while his spokesman taunted his enemies by saying the 69-year-old was safe, healthy and “leading the battle for our freedom”.
The first members of the de facto government, the National Transitional Council (NTC), arrived in Tripoli yesterday to begin setting up the institutions that will bring democracy to Libya.
But a large area of the capital remained a war zone as loyalist soldiers continued to put up stubborn resistance in a guerrilla battle that could go on for “weeks”, according to William Hague, the Foreign Secretary.

 

Gaddafi may have emptied Libya's gold reserves

Fallen Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi may have emptied the country's estimated gold reserves worth $ 10 billion and will use it to buy protection and wage a guerrilla war, the nation's former chief banker has said.

"Libya had gold reserves worth $ 10 billion in Tripoli. Now that Gaddafi is on the run, he may have taken some of this gold", Al Jazeera quoted former Libyan Central Bank chief Farhat Bengdara as having told an Italian daily.

Bengdara alleged that Gaddafi may use this bullion to corrupt tribes for his protection and saw chaos. The Libyan banker had deserted the Gaddafi regime few months ago.

The banker said that during his tenure the dictator had tried to sell gold consignments to hire mercenaries and to keep ready cash in dollars and euros with himself.

Bengdara said that Libya would need anywhere between $ five to seven billion to kickstart the economy and said there were no fears as the country's Sovereign Wealth Fund and gold reserves were a comfortable $ 168 billion.

 

Gaddafi nearly captured on Wednesday - report

Libyan commandos fighting Muammar Gaddafi came close to capturing the toppled leader on Wednesday when they raided a private home in Tripoli where he appeared to have been hiding, Paris Match magazine said on Thursday.

Citing a source in a unit which it said was coordinating among intelligence services from Arab states and Libyan rebels, the French weekly said on its website that these services believed Gaddafi was still somewhere in the Libyan capital.

Gaddafi was gone from the unassuming safe house in central Tripoli when agents arrived about 10 a.m. (9 a.m. British time) on Wednesday after a tip-off from a credible source. But, the magazine said, they found evidence that he had spent at least one night there -- though it did not say how recently that was.

France has taken a leading military role in the NATO force backing the rebels. Britain's defence minister said on Thursday that NATO was helping with intelligence and reconnaissance in the hunt for Gaddafi and his sons. Many analysts believe France, Britain and Arab allies, notably Qatar, may have some special forces on the ground in Tripoli working with Libyan commandos.

Anyone within Col Muammar Gaddafi's "inner circle" who captures or kills him has been offered immunity from prosecution and a cash reward.

Anyone within Col Muammar Gaddafi's "inner circle" who captures or kills him has been offered immunity from prosecution and a cash reward.

Guma El-Gamaty, the UK Co-ordinator of the Libyan National Transitional Council, said it was a "golden chance" for those close to Col Gaddafi to return to their families and be immune from prosecution.

He also demanded that the African Union release funds belonging to the Libyan people.

Terror in Tripoli as loyalists fight to the death

The missile smashed into the top floor of the house, punching a jagged hole. It sprayed the terrified people on the street below with shrapnel, shattered glass and jagged masonry. Libya's revolutionaries were mounting their assault on the last stronghold of Muammar Gaddafi in Tripoli

There was no escape for the residents of Abu Salim, trapped as the fighting spread all around them. In the corner of a street, a man who was shot in the crossfire, the back of his blue shirt soaked in blood, was being carried away by three others. "I know that man, he is a shopkeeper," said Sama Abdessalam Bashti, who had just run across the road to reach his home. "The rebels are attacking our homes. This should not be happening

 

£1 million reward was offered today for the capture of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi

£1 million reward was offered today for the capture of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi as Foreign Secretary William Hague called on the Libyan dictator to recognise his 42-year rule was over and stand down his forces.

Mustafa Abdel Jalil, head of the Transitional National Council, said he supported the offer by Libyan businessmen for a reward of two million Libyan dinars to anyone handing over Gaddafi "dead or alive".

He also offered amnesty to "members of (Gaddafi's) close circle who kill him or capture him".

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His comments came as some 35 journalists held at the Hotel Rixos in Tripoli were released by soldiers loyal to the 69-year-old dictator.

The hotel is reported to be one of the last buildings under the control of Gaddafi's forces. According to BBC correspondent Matthew Price, the situation deteriorated overnight when it became clear they could not leave of their own free will as two gunmen stalked the building, preventing the journalists from leaving.

Power cuts also meant they had not been able to watch on television as Gaddafi's compound was stormed.

"We had no idea that Tripoli was like this," he added.

"We wondered if our lives were at risk because of that, because we were seen as on one side of the conflict."

Earlier, jubilant rebel fighters swept through the capital following last night's successful siege of the despot's heavily-fortified Bab al-Aziziya compound.

After storming the luxury home, they raised the new Libyan flag over buildings and looted Gaddafi's personal possessions, including his famous colonel's hat - effectively ending the brutal 42-year regime.

And today, some of Gaddafi's closest allies in government appeared to be deserting him.

Abdul Ati al-Obeidi, Gaddafi's former foreign minister, told Channel 4 News that the regime had come to an end. Speaking from Tripoli, he said the rebels were now responsible for restoring law and order to Libya.

But Gaddafi was still resisting arrest as he went on the run. He said it was a "tactical" move to flee his base in Tripoli, adding that he had gone on a discreet tour of the Libyan capital and did not feel in danger.

As rebel fighters searched the city, the dictator told residents in a poor-quality telephone address on local television that they must "cleanse" Tripoli of his regime's enemies and free it from the "devils" who have overrun it.

Al-Orouba TV also broadcast what it said was a telephone interview with government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim, who said Libya would be turned into a "burning volcano and a fire under the feet of the invaders and their treacherous agents".

But Mr Hague said it was now time for Gaddafi to recognise defeat as Nicaragua apparently offered asylum to Gaddafi.

Speaking after he chaired a meeting of the National Security Council in London, Mr Hague said: "There is a clear, fundamental decisive rejection of the regime by the people of Libya.

"I think it is time now for Colonel Gaddafi to stop issuing delusional statements and recognise that that has happened, that control of the country is not going to return. He should be telling his dwindling remaining forces now to stand down."

The British Government is still also attempting to "pave the way for the unfreezing of assets" which "ultimately belong to the Libyan people", Mr Hague added.

Journalists freed from Tripoli hotel

International journalists were freed from the Rixos Hotel today after being held for five days by armed men loyal to Muammar Gaddafi.

The dozens of journalists were taken in Red Cross cars and vans to another Tripoli hotel, where they hugged friends and colleagues, many crying

 

Britain watching Tripoli hotel situation closely

Britain is closely monitoring developments in the Tripoli hotel where foreign journalists have been confined for four days guarded by pro-regime gunmen, Foreign Secretary William Hague said Wednesday.
"We are monitoring that very closely. We are in touch with their news organisations," he said. "Of course we are concerned about their safety and the safety of anyone caught up in this fighting."
Around 30 foreign journalists, including an AFP correspondent, are in the Rixos hotel, where a BBC reporter described the conditions as "desperate".
"We are also doing what we can to help through talking to the (rebel) National Transitional Council, although they are not yet in control of that area, and to any others who may be able to help," Hague added.
"So we are monitoring that situation, we are having those discussions and I am monitoring that situation hour by hour," he noted.
The AFP reporter in the Rixos said the journalists were increasingly fearful of what to expect in the coming days, and whether or not rebel forces will meet armed resistance once they attempt to take the hotel.
Electricity, temporarily cut, has been restored but water and food were scarce.
The majority of pro-regime soldiers standing guard outside the hotel had abandoned their positions by Wednesday after rebel forces laid claim to vast swathes of Tripoli.
But a handful remained, dressed in civilian clothes and armed with Kalashnikov assault rifles.

 

Libyans poured into streets surrounding Moammar Gadhafi's fortress-like compound in Tripoli

Libyans poured into streets surrounding Moammar Gadhafi's fortress-like compound in Tripoli on Tuesday, after rebels captured it following fierce street battles against forces loyal to the longtime leader.

Streets around the Bab al-Aziziya compound rang with mortars, heavy machine-guns and anti-aircraft guns throughout much of the day Tuesday as rebels took up positions around Col. Gadhafi's symbolic stronghold.

Associated Press

An explosion hit near Gadhafi's main compound in the Bab al-Aziziya district in Tripoli on Tuesday.

By late afternoon gunfire ceased and rebels and Tripoli residents poured onto the streets. An overpass about a half-mile from the complex, on which rebels had taken up position just an hour before, thronged with people.

The compound's green gates were blasted open and hundreds of rebels were pouring into the complex, the Associated Press reported, some driving golf carts as the area resounded with celebratory gunfire.

Libya rebels: we let Gaddafi son Saif al-Islam escape

On Sunday as they poured almost unopposed into the heart of capital, the National Transitional Council (NTC) announced it had scored a huge propaganda coup by capturing three of the dictator’s six sons Mohammed, Saadi and most importantly of all, Gaddafi’s likely successor Saif al-Islam.
Educated in London and able to boast connections with some of Europe’s most influential politicians, Saif al-Islam had become the public face of his father’s faltering regime in recent months.
The rebels triumphantly announced plans to deliver the 39-year-old to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague where he is wanted along with his father for crimes against humanity.
His capture suggested the fall of Gaddafi was imminent and NTC leader Mustapha Abd El Jalil issued a statement in which he said: “We have confirmed information that our guys have captured Saif Al-Islam. We have given instructions to treat him well so that he can face trial.”
Hours later the ICC in the Netherlands issued an apparent confirmation of the capture with spokesman Fadi el-Abdallah telling reporters they were already discussing details of his hand over with the rebels.

 

Rebel forces have swept into Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's Tripoli compound - but the Libyan leader's whereabouts are unknown.

REBELS INSIDE COLONEL GADDAFI'S COMPOUND

The Libyan leader's compound is "totally in the hands of the revolutionaries," Libyan UN envoy Ibrahim Dabbashi, who supports the rebel movement, said.
But there has been no word on the fate of Col Gaddafi who had vowed to fight "to the end".

TV footage showed rebel fighters streaming through the sprawling Bab al Aziziya compound, firing in the air in celebration after hours of heavy clashes.
After hundreds of jubilant rebels poured into the complex, some smashed a statue of Col Gaddafi and others ran through dozens of buildings, unchallenged, seizing weapons and vehicles.
The Pentagon said the rebels appeared to be in control of most of Tripoli but warned the situation was "still very fluid" and Gaddafi forces "remained dangerous".
In the major offensive, opposition fighters used anti-aircraft guns and rocket launchers to attack the complex's three outer walls.

Jubilant rebels bring down a statue of the leader inside the compound
Sky News special correspondent Alex Crawford, who is inside the compound, said: "The place is filled with opposition fighters and soldiers... it has been well and truly taken over by opposition fighters."
One ecstatic fighter told Crawford: "It is unbelievable, to all of the people that sacrificed themselves - for this moment we are in front of his compound."
He added: "Gaddafi, you are a coward - we are looking for you, where are you, come on!"

Earlier, at least two people were killed and several others hurt, including a toddler, as Gaddafi troops fired rockets from his compound.
Crawford said "the attacks from the Gaddafi forces appear to be fairly indiscriminate".
She said: "They are using rockets from inside the compound to shell the civilian population.
"We went to one area where a rocket had landed and two men died in a house. The whole family was injured including a little girl aged about three."

Saif al-Islam, son of Muammar Gaddafi, who was reported to have been captured by Libyan opposition forces on Sunday, has made a public appearance in Tripoli

"I am here to refute the lies," Saif al-Islam said on Monday, referring to reports of his arrest. He travelled to the Rixos Hotel late in the night and spoke to foreign journalists staying there.

"We broke the back of the rebels. It was a trap. We gave them a hard time, so we are winning," he said.

Television footage showed him pumping his fists in the air, smiling, waving and shaking hands with supporters, as well as holding his arms aloft with each hand making the "V" for victory sign.

Gaddafi's son told journalists that Tripoli, which has been largely overrun in the past 24 hours by rebel forces seeking to topple his father, was in fact in government hands.

Asked whether his father was safe, Saif said: "Of course."

He said he did not care about an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court in The Hague seeking him and his father for crimes against humanity.

Earlier, armed pro-Gaddafi security men guarding the hotel took a small group of journalists to Gaddafi's Bab al-Azizyah compound, where they had a meeting with Saif al-Islam.

They returned to the hotel accompanied by Saif al-Islam, who then spoke to journalists in the lobby before taking some of them back to the compound a short distance away for a brief visit.

Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the ICC prosecutor, had earlier said the 39-year-old was arrested and in detention.

Waheed Burshan, an NTC member told Al Jazeera, "We had confirmation Saif al-Islam was arrested, but we have no idea how he escaped."

Meanwhile, rebel forces said they had arrested Saadi Gaddafi, the beleaguered Libyan leader's third son. The claim was made even as the whereabouts of other relatives and senior officials remained unknown.

Eldest son 'escapes'

Gaddafi's eldest son, Mohammad, who was also detained by rebels on Sunday night is reported to have escaped.


Mohammad Gaddafi's interview with Al Jazeera
In an interview with Al Jazeera after he surrendered, Mohammad expressed his "sadness" at the fighting in Libya. The interview was interrupted by gunfire.

"What's happening in Libya is very upsetting. The killing between brothers, between Muslims, is something that saddens me," he said.

Mohammad was the chairman of Libya's main state-run telecommunications firm, but his role in his father's government was reportedly minimal, far smaller than Saif al-Islam's.

The biggest question is now about Muammar Gaddafi himself, last heard in a brief audio recording on Sunday night. He called on Libya's tribes to March on the capital.

"How can you allow Tripoli to be burned?" he asked.

Gaddafi's sons: Where are they?

Mohammad: Surrendered to rebel fighters in Tripoli but has reportedly escaped.

Saif al-Islam: In Tripoli and interacts with journalists to disprove reports of his capture by rebels.

Saadi: Reported to have been captured by rebels in Tripoli.

Hannibal: At large.

Mutasim: At large.

Saif al-Arab: Killed by a NATO airstrike in April.

Khamis: At large; rumoured to be leading leading troops in Tripoli.

Three other Gaddafi sons - Hannibal, Mutasim and Khamis - have not been located. Hannibal had little role in politics, but Khamis headed a feared army unit that took a leading role in suppressing protests. Mutasim was an army officer and a security adviser to his father.

The Al-Arabiya news network reported on Monday that Khamis was travelling to central Tripoli with soldiers loyal to him. That report could not be immediately confirmed.

Abdullah al-Senussi, Gaddafi's longtime intelligence chief and  brother-in-law, also seems to have eluded the rebels.

He was last seen at Tripoli's Rixos Hotel on Sunday, when he told foreign journalists that "Western intelligence" was "working alongside al-Qaeda to destroy Libya".

There are rumours in Arabic newspapers that Senussi fled Tripoli, either to southern Libya or to the Tunisian town of Djerba, but those reports cannot be substantiated.

Senussi was the third Libyan official charged by the ICC in June. The court accused him of carrying out a campaign of murder, mass arrest and torture.

Colonel Gaddafi's heir-apparent Saif al-Islam could be handed over to The Hague within weeks to face charges of war crimes.

The former playboy and London School of Economics student, who owns a £10 million Hampstead home, was today being held under armed guard after being captured by rebel fighters. Two of Gaddafi's other sons were also being held.

Officials from the International Criminal Court announced they had opened talks with the rebel National Transitional Council over a transfer to The Hague, where Saif and his father have been indicted for crimes against humanity. Libyan rebel leader Mustafa Abdul Jalil said Saif and his brother Al-Saadi had been captured and a third brother, Muhammad, had been arrested after handing himself in.

He said: "He (Saif) is being kept in a secure place under close guard until he is handed over to the judiciary. We gave instructions that he is well treated, in order to be judged."

The capture of Saif, the dictator's second son, is a major coup for the rebels. Once seen as a moderate and a force for change, the 39-year-old has been the public face of the regime during the uprising.

Sir Richard Dalton, the former British ambassador to Libya, said that while his two brothers may be able to cut a deal with the rebels Saif was too closely allied with his father to escape justice.

He said: "Saif al-Islam burnt his boats a long time ago. He has been at the forefront from very early on and he is completely discredited. I don't think there will be any deal for him.

"He has been indicted by the ICC and I would believe the ICC will try and honour that arrest warrant. It is ultimately up to the NTC to decide. There is a Libyan judiciary with the ability for him to be tried in Libya."

ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said discussions were under way over Saif's transfer to The Hague. He said: "It is time for justice, not revenge."

Saif has strong links to the UK. He embarked on a one-year masters course, and then a four-year PhD, at LSE - although an investigation found parts of his thesis had been plagiarised.

As well as his Hampstead home, he lived for a time at the Lanesborough hotel. He held birthday parties in Monaco and St Tropez and went on hunting trips in Europe and New Zealand. He reportedly kept a pair of Bengal tigers at his Tripoli home.

After Tony Blair offered the "hand of friendship" in 2004, Colonel Gaddafi's British investments grew to an estimated £10 billion with Saif managing the business interests.

Gaddafi's oldest son, Muhammad, ran the company which operated all mobile phones and satellites in the country, as well as being head of the Libyan Olympic Committee. Al-Saadi was commander of Libya's Special Forces. 

Embattled Libyan leader Moamar Gaddafi was out of sight as rebels took over Tripoli and arrested two of his sons, while world leaders urged the former strongman to go.

Libyan rebel leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil hailed the end of the four-decade "Gaddafi era" on Monday, but urged rebels fighters to respect the law and promised fair trials for members of Gaddafi's government.
"I call on all Libyans to exercise self restraint and to respect the property and lives of others and not to resort to taking the law into their own hands," Mr Jalil told a news conference in the eastern city of Benghazi aired by Al Jazeera television.
He congratulated the Libyan people "for this historic victory" and thanked NATO for its military support, while cautioning that "the real moment of victory is when Gaddafi is captured".
Mr Jalil said he hoped Gaddafi, who faces an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court, would be "captured alive so that he will be given a fair trial".
Two of his sons, Seif Al-Islam and Mohammed have already been captured, and another son, Al-Mutassim, was reported by Al Arabiya TV to be in the Bab al-Azizya compound in Tripoli.
The Western-backed rebels, whose grip around Tripoli tightened over the past two weeks before a final offensive on Sunday, said they were still encountering pockets of resistance, particularly around the Bab al-Aziziyah compound.
Gaddafi has not been seen in public since mid-June. His foes speculate he may not be in the Libyan capital, or even in the country.
He broadcast three defiant audio messages on Sunday, vowing he would not surrender and urging the people of Tripoli to "purge the capital", even as rebel forces swept through Tripoli and took over the symbolic Green Square.
French foreign minister Alain Juppe, whose government has been in the forefront of the international effort to oust Gaddafi, said Paris did not know where he was.
British prime minister David Cameron said London had no confirmation of his whereabouts either, adding Gaddafi's regime is in "full retreat" and he should give up any hope he has of clinging on to power.
"Gaddafi must stop fighting, without conditions, and clearly show that he has given up any claim to control Libya," he said.
US president Barack Obama said Gaddafi's 42-year autocratic regime was at a "tipping point" and that the "tyrant" must go, adding a call for the rebels to respect human rights and move to democracy.
"The Gaddafi regime is showing signs of collapsing. The people of Libya are showing that the universal pursuit of dignity and freedom is far stronger than the iron fist of a dictator," Mr Obama said in a statement.
Swift transfer
The International Criminal Court (ICC) is seeking the transfer of Seif al-Islam to The Hague to face charges of crimes against humanity.
Spokesman Fadi El-Abdallah told AFP the court was discussing his transfer with the Libyan rebel NTC.
Earlier on Monday, the court's prosecutor Louis Moreno-Ocampo said Seif al-Islam, 39, was arrested and in detention, calling for his swift transfer.
"We hope he can soon be in The Hague" to face judgement, Mr Moreno-Ocampo said.
Seif al-Islam is accused together with his father of orchestrating a plan to put down the Libyan revolt by "any means necessary" since it was sparked in mid-February.
This included the murder of hundreds of pro-freedom Libyan protesters and injuring hundreds of others when security forces shot a crowds using live ammunition, as well as the arrest and torture of numerous others.
Before the revolt erupted, Seif al-Islam was increasingly seen as a successor to his father, despite publicly ruling out any dynastic ambitions in the north African country.

Libyan rebels face pro-Gaddafi counter-attack in Zlitan

Fierce fighting continued on Monday in Zlitan, 80 miles east of Tripoli, as forces loyal to Colonel Gaddafi resisted rebel forces advancing towards the Libyan capital.

As opposition fighters seized control of much of Tripoli, government forces counter-attacked in Zlitan, a town rebels captured on Friday.

Government forces, dug in along a line of hills south of Zlitan, fired a barrage of shells, killing a six-year-old child and wounding his three-year-old brother.

The three-year-old, Mohammed Halifa, was lying in a cot in Misrata's Mujamma Aledat hospital on Monday morning with both arms and hands bandaged, and a dressing on a wound caused by a shell splinter in the abdomen. He was sedated but appeared confused, trying to move his heavily bandaged arms and mouthing words.

"He was in the house when the hound [mortar] came in," said surgeon Dr Mohammed Ahmed. "I don't know why he [Gaddafi] is still killing. Gaddafi is lost, but these people are still killing. I don't know why." Ahmed said the boy's injuries did not appear life threatening.

Sources in Misrata, the base of the rebel force fighting in Zlitan, had earlier said they hoped to send a unit across the lines to meet government forces and negotiate their surrender.

But such plans appeared to be on hold on Monday afternoon as rebel reinforcements in black painted jeeps mounted with machine guns and recoilless rifles drove at speed up the main highway to Zlitan.

Misrata, along with Benghazi, had seen a night of wild celebrations. Fireworks and machine gun fire into the air started late on Sunday in reaction to news that rebel forces had entered Tripoli. Hospital officials said nine people were treated for minor burns from fireworks, some of which exploded amid the crowds.

Misrata military council confirmed that a unit of 200 rebel fighters landed by sea in Tripoli over the weekend, bringing weapons and ammunition for rebel fighters and including a team of medics.

 

Obama says Gaddafi rule collapsing, supports rebels

U.S. President Barack Obama said on Sunday Muammar Gaddafi's rule was showing signs of collapse and called on the Libyan leader to relinquish power to avoid further casualties.

"The surest way for the bloodshed to end is simple: Muammar Gaddafi and his regime need to recognize that their rule has come to an end," Obama said in a statement. "Gaddafi needs to acknowledge the reality that he no longer controls Libya. He needs to relinquish power once and for all."

The United States has played a supporting role in the NATO campaign that started in March to protect rebels, protesters

and civilians from attacks by Gaddafi's forces, providing technical support and intelligence to help air strikes.

Obama has said the United States got involved to shield the Libyan people from humanitarian crisis, and pledged in his Sunday evening statement to stay involved after Gaddafi goes.

He called for the Transitional National Council rebels in Libya to take control upon Gaddafi's exit and do everything possible to avoid further casualties, preserve the remaining government institutions and commit to pursuing real democracy after decades of rule by the often erratic Libyan strongman.

"At this pivotal and historic time, the TNC should continue to demonstrate the leadership that is necessary to steer the country through a transition by respecting the rights of the people of Libya," Obama said in the statement issued during his annual holiday in Martha's Vineyard, an island near Boston.

"The United States will continue to stay in close coordination with the TNC. We will continue to insist that the basic rights of the Libyan people are respected. And we will continue to work with our allies and partners in the international community to protect the people of Libya, and to support a peaceful transition to democracy," he said.

POST-GADDAFI PLANNING

Earlier on Sunday, on his way into a seaside restaurant in the well-heeled town of Oak Bluffs, Obama told reporters he was waiting for a full picture of the upheaval in Libya to emerge before commenting on conditions there.

His written statement came shortly after TNC rebel forces streamed through the Libyan capital of Tripoli, waving flags and firing into the air.

The rebels said the city was under their control except Gaddafi's Bab Al-Aziziyah stronghold, according to al-Jazeera Television. Two of Gaddafi's sons were captured.

Western powers have been intensifying planning for post-Gaddafi Libya in recent days in response to a rapid succession of rebel victories around Tripoli, according to officials involved in the talks.

The NATO alliance on Friday authorized formal planning for post-Gaddafi Libya and TNC members were due to meet officials from the United States, Britain, Jordan and United Arab Emirates to discuss "day-after" planning in Dubai this week.

The White House believes that unless transition plans are firmed up quickly, post-Gaddafi Libya may be chaotic and it may be impossible to fulfill the West's promise to protect Libya's people from humanitarian crisis.

Some U.S. and European officials fear Libya's opposition movement is not fully ready to govern. Their hope is that enough of Gaddafi's institutions will remain intact to enable the formation of a transitional government that can maintain a measure of civil order.

On Sunday, the U.S. State Department repeated a call for Gaddafi to step aside.

"We continue efforts to encourage the TNC to maintain broad outreach across all segments of Libyan society and to plan for post-Gaddafi Libya," said State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland. "Gaddafi's days are numbered. If Gaddafi cared about the welfare of the Libyan people, he would step down now."

 

Britain accused Col Muammar Gaddafi of 'losing his grip' on reality as the Libyan dictator defied Nato air raids and rebel action on the streets of Tripoli by claiming to be in control of his capital.

The Foreign Office Minister Alistair Burt said RAF fighter jets had played a "significant" role in Nato attacks on Col Gaddafi's forces in the last 24 hours.
The air assault, in which RAF Tornado GR4s struck with precision-guided Paveway bombs in and around Tripoli, came as pockets of rebels rose up overnight in neighbourhoods across the capital, sparking heavy street fighting for the first time in the city since the rebels took up arms.
Gunfire, anti-aircraft fire and explosions rang out across Tripoli as rebel commanders hailed the start of an attack on the dictator’s final stronghold.
But in a typically defiant audio message broadcast on state television early on Sunday, Col Gaddafi claimed to have repelled the rebels in the city.

 

final battle for Libya was under way last night as advancing rebel forces routed loyalist troops on the outskirts of Tripoli and Nato declared Col Muammar Gaddafi’s regime was “crumbling”.

Rebels claimed they encountered no resistance from Gaddafi forces as they were just four miles from the centre of the capital.
“Clearly we’re into the last stage of the regime – the writing is on the wall,” Oana Lungescu, the chief Nato spokesman, said. “We’re seeing people packing their bags – three top people defecting in the past couple of days, and Gaddafi-controlled territory shrinking before our eyes.”
Last night, residents of Tripoli took to the streets to celebrate the expected defeat of the regime.
After quickly consolidating their triumph in the key oil town of Zawiyah, 30 miles west of Tripoli, rebels have fought their way through towns on the capital’s western fringes as residents of the anti-regime eastern suburbs staged their own uprising.
Last night, rebels said regime forces were negotiating the surrender of the country’s main military airbase, Mitiga, in eastern Tripoli. They also claimed Gaddafi’s Presidential Guard had surrendered.