Pockets of Resistance As Rebels Claim Tripoli

• by Correspondents* - IPS/ IPS/Al Jazeera (doha and tripoli)
• Monday, August 22, 2011
• Inter Press Service

Fighting and gun battles erupted in parts of Tripoli on Monday after tanks left Bab al-Azizyah, Gaddafi's compound, to confront the rebel assault that gained control of much of the capital in a battle overnight.

Many of the streets in the centre of the city - where anti-government supporters had celebrated hours earlier - were abandoned as pockets of pro-Gaddafi resistance and the presence of snipers and artillery fire made the area dangerous.

Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr, who advanced into the city with rebel fighters overnight, said the security situation in the city was 'tenuous', despite there being celebrations in the streets.

'There are some Gaddafi forces still putting up a fight,' Khodr said. 'And rebels still have one last push to make towards Bab al-Azizyah,' Khodr added, saying that it was unclear when this advance would take place.

In Other Developments

Gaddafi's three sons are in custody. Saadi was captured by rebels in Tripoli; Saif al-Islam, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court, was arrested in a village in western Tripoli; and Mohammed surrendered to rebel forces and spoke to Al Jazeera shortly afterwards.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez condemned NATO for demolishing Tripoli, while U.S. President Barack Obama said momentum against Gaddafi had reached a tipping point.

The Libyan diaspora communities are celebrating the advance of opposition forces.

Throughout the night, euphoric Libyan rebels moved into the centre of Tripoli and thousands of jubilant civilians rushed out of their homes to cheer the long convoys of pickup trucks packed with fighters shooting in the air.

Meanwhile, speaking at a press conference in the rebel stronghold of Benghazi, the NTC’s Mustafa Abdel Jalil acknowledged that Libya still faced many challenges, including maintaining law and order.

'Jalil spoke at length saying that it wasn't going to be a bed of roses and a great number of challenges lay ahead for the Libyan people,' Al Jazeera's Jacky Rowland reported from Benghazi.

Rowland called Jalil 'a very moderate voice, a voice calling for common sense and reason' at this sensitive time.

She said: 'He called on people in Tripoli to respect people's lives and people's property... he also stressed that there should not be a case of people taking the law into their own hands.'

Jalil said Gaddafi had left a legacy of violence against his own people and the world. He said he hoped that Gaddafi was captured alive so that he could be put on trial.

'We will provide him with a fair trial. But I have no idea how he will defend himself against these crimes that he committed against the Libyan people and the world,' Jalil said.

Defiant Audio Messages

There has been no word on the location of Gaddafi himself. The Libyan leader has delivered a series of angry and defiant audio messages in recent days, vowing not to surrender.

In the most recent address, he acknowledged that opposition forces were moving into Tripoli and warned the city would be turned into another Baghdad. He also called on Libya's tribes to rally to the city's defence.

'How come you allow Tripoli, the capital, to be under occupation once again?' he said. 'The traitors are paving the way for the occupation forces to be deployed in Tripoli.'

Opposition forces and Tripoli residents were trying to maintain order in the city on Monday, said Khodr. 'The people of Tripoli really are maintaining law and order in the areas that they are now controlling in Tripoli.'

'They have set up checkpoints, are searching cars and looking for possible Gaddafi supporters, because ever since late last night they were worried about sleeper cells in the capital.'

As the fighting intensified, it was reported that foreign journalists had been trapped inside the Rixos hotel where many correspondents have been based throughout the conflict.

'They are not allowed to leave the hotel because there are Gaddafi men in the area and around the area,' Khodr said.

Opposition Hold Majority Control

An opposition fighter in Tripoli told Al Jazeera that only about 20 percent of the city was in the hands of Gaddafi supporters. 'NATO air forces are above us, I am not sure if they are going to strike or if they are just here for surveillance.'

Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the NATO secretary-general, said NATO is ready to work with the Libyan NTC, and 'our goal throughout this conflict has been to protect the people of Libya.'

With Gaddafi's grip on power apparently slipping, speculation has begun on where he may flee if Tripoli falls into rebel hands.

In a press conference, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, South Africa's foreign minister, said Pretoria was not facilitating Gaddafi's exit and did not know the 69-year-old leader's current whereabouts.

Nkoana-Mashabane added that South Africa had no plans at the moment to recognise the rebel government if Gaddafi falls.

'The Libyans themselves must be given the chance to decide the future of their country and the future of Gaddafi,' Nkoana-Mashabane said.

Al Jazeera's correspondent in Johannesburg, Haru Matasa, said Angola and Zimbabwe had been cited as countries the embattled leader was most likely to go to.

*Published under an agreement with Al-Jazeera.

© Inter Press Service (2011) — All Rights ReservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service

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