Battle for Tripoli
Live coverage of the Libyan unrest threatening Muammar Gaddafi's rule
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My colleague Olesya Dmitracova sends this update:
NATO should stop its air strikes in Libya, the country's charge d'affaires in London, who supports the rebels, said on Monday after rebel fighters swept into the heart of Tripoli, heralding the end of Muammar Gaddafi's four-decade rule.
"NATO has done a very good job, they neutralized Gaddafi's war machine," Mahmud Nacua told reporters. "But I think their role will be over and the Libyan people will independently rebuild their country."
Asked whether he was calling on NATO to stop its military campaign, Nacua replied: "I think so, yes. There's no danger from Gaddafi and his heavy machines against our fighters." -
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An attack on Tripoli by Libyan anti-government forces in recent days exposed Muammar Gaddafi's military to heavy NATO bombing but the rebels' push was not coordinated with the alliance, a NATO official said. Justyna Pawlak has the full story uk.reuters.com
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That may be it for the power at the #Rixos. #Tripoliby missy_ryan via twitter 8/22/2011 1:05:48 PM -
Mustafa Abdel Jalil, the head of Libya's rebel national council urges rebels to respect the law and promised fair trials for members of Gaddafi's government.
He said: "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.
"We assure the international community that we are seeking to build solid ties based on mutual respect." -
Here's a list of members of Gaddafi's regime with sanctions placed on them www.sandraoffthestrip.com
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The question on everyone's lips at the moment is, of course, where is Muammar Gaddafi? My colleague Angus MacSwan writes:
"Muammar Gaddafi, who for decades enjoyed strutting before the public in his finery, has disappeared from the stage as rebels take over his former stronghold Tripoli.
The rebels want to get their hands on him and so does the International Criminal Court. But they must find him first.
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. As rebel fortunes have risen, his long televised speeches at boisterous public meetings have given way to scratchy telephone appeals from unknown hideouts.
Over his 41-year-rule, Gaddafi created a personality cult, with his image festooned in banners and posters all over Libya and his philosophy spelled out in a 'Green Book'. He presented himself as a father of the nation and, on the international stage, a warrior against colonialism and a campaigner first for pan-Arab and then pan-African interests.
He undoubtedly enjoyed a measure of popular support, so catching him and demonstrating to the people that his reign is well and truly over will be crucial for the next government.
French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe, whose government has been in the forefront of the international effort to oust Gaddafi, said on Monday that Paris did not know where he was. British Prime Minister David Cameron said London had no confirmation of his whereabouts either.
If he has fled Tripoli, one possible bolt-hole would be Sirte, his home region, where he could still find some support and sympathy.
At one point early in the uprising, Britain said he was thought to be on his way to Venezuela and the welcoming arms of his friend Hugo Chavez.
That proved to be false, but in the past week rumors that a Venezuelan plane was at a Libyan airport fueled renewed speculation that he might head for that exit door.
If he is still in Tripoli, it likely to be a bunker in a military compound. Two of his sons, Saif Al-Islam and Mohammed have already been captured, but loyal troops were still putting up fierce resistance at several parts of the city on Monday.
Another son, Al-Mutassim, was reported by al-Arabiya TV to be in the Bab al-Azizya compound in Tripoli." -
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RT @fieldproducer: All journalists who've stayed at the Rixos thought emails/computers being hacked, journalist still there have now found print outs of emailsby Anthony De Rosa via twitter edited by anthony.derosa 8/22/2011 1:38:05 PM -
Posters of Muammar Gaddafi thrown by anti-Gaddafi protesters are seen at the yard of the Libyan consulate in Athens August 22, 2011. Libyan government tanks and snipers put up scattered, last-ditch resistance in Tripoli after rebels swept into the heart of the capital, cheered on by crowds hailing the end of Gaddafi's 42 years in power. REUTERS/Yiorgos Karahalis
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A small request to the rebels: be kind to bit.lyby Anthony De Rosa via twitter 8/22/2011 2:02:06 PM
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More on Libya's Jamahiriyah state television going off air. A rebel spokesman said forces opposed to Gaddafi had taken control of state TV HQ. "The revolutionaries stormed the television building... after killing the soldiers surrounding it. It is now under their control." This quote was sent to us by Reuters' Hamid Ould Ahmed.
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Russian energy firms will be barred by NATO from returning to Libya - Libya Business council officialby Anthony De Rosa via twitter 8/22/2011 2:10:38 PM
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AlArabya: Ibrahim Qwadir: states existence of tunnels between Bab Alazizia, Rixos Hotel, other locations in #Tripoli. #Libya.by feb17voices via twitter 8/23/2011 1:13:31 AM -
LPC #Libya: [re: Seif] "...does not make a difference to us, we are determined to free Libya, chase them...hand them over to law" #Libyaby feb17voices via twitter 8/23/2011 1:17:55 AM
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power is back at the #Rixos after a terrifying 24 hrs we have had... #Tripoli #Libyaby jomana karadsheh via twitter 8/23/2011 1:18:52 AM -
Saif al-Islam, the son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, gestures as he talks to reporters in Tripoli August 23, 2011. Saif told journalists that Libya, which has been largely overrun in the past 24 hours by rebel forces seeking to topple his father, was in fact in government hands and that Muammar Gaddafi was safe. REUTERS/Paul Hackett
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AJA: Gaddafi forces withdraw to al Bisher 20 km outside #Brega. #libya.by feb17voices via twitter 8/23/2011 1:22:34 AM
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Saif al-Islam, the son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, gestures as he greets supporters in Tripoli August 23, 2011. Saif told journalists that Libya, which has been largely overrun in the past 24 hours by rebel forces seeking to topple his father, was in fact in government hands and that Muammar Gaddafi was safe. REUTERS/Paul Hackett
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AlArabya via AP: more pictures emerging of Saif #Gaddafi inside Bab Alazizia #Libya.by feb17voices via twitter 8/23/2011 1:32:49 AM
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Melodramatic, far-reaching, and catastrophic conclusions are not needed here. We need cool heads. There are many possible explanations. Add these to the list:(1) Seif is his father's son, and enjoys "magic" performances; (2) who probably has a body double; (3) Journalists kept imprisoned in a hotel for many days/weeks/months are bound to develop aspects of "Stockholm symdrome", then (4) keep in deteriorating conditions, with their communications and batteries dying, in the dark for 24 hours, are bound to be deeply swayed by any brightly illuminated and "staged" performance. All the more reason to wait "til the other shoe drops" so we can find out which are the lies and which are the truths in the midst of this performance by Seif Gaddhafi
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LPC #Tripoli [regime controlled area] easy areas were liberated first (Gergarish, Ben Ashour, etc. )..other areas are harder, taking longerby feb17voices via twitter 8/23/2011 1:39:49 AM
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LPC (cont'd)... disheartening and isolating to be in regime-controlled areas. We are waiting, wondering when opposition forces will arriveby feb17voices via twitter 8/23/2011 1:40:48 AM
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If you thought that rebels were committed democrats, honest to the last red cell in their veins, then you're probably living in another world... The misinformation about Saif's capture simply means nothing as it is, we don't even have any idea who it originated from, someone in the field, leadership, press, etc. (If it was misinformation at all, and it's not Saif who's lying - a contingency not entirely out of the question, given his credentials.)
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RT @JomanaCNN: power is back at the #Rixos after a terrifying 24 hrs we have had... #Tripoli #Libyaby Matthew Chance via twitter 8/23/2011 1:54:59 AM -
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Alarabaya #Tripoli: in past 2 days Libyan engineers took control of communications infrastructure, cutting communications for #Gaddafiby feb17voices via twitter 8/23/2011 4:24:52 PM
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#Libya, Snipers Were positioned at the entrances of #Bab aziziyah, They were slowing the rebel advance, #Libya, #Tripoliby ZeinakhodrAljaz via twitter 8/23/2011 4:26:11 PM -
#Libya, At times #Gaddafi s men and opposition fighters were 500 meters apart, #Libya, #Tripoliby ZeinakhodrAljaz via twitter 8/23/2011 4:27:46 PM
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Sarkozy, Obama agree Gaddafi rule nearly over: France www.reuters.com -
Libya's assets in foreign currencies have reached around $168 billion and the country could return to oil production in the next 3 to 6 months, Libya's former central bank governor said in an interview with Al-Arabiya television on Tuesday. www.reuters.com
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