Gaddafi forces resist rebel push

22 August 2011 Last updated at 20:20 ET

Libyan rebels fighting for control of the capital Tripoli have met strong resistance from pro-Gaddafi forces.

The rebels, who launched an all-out assault on Sunday, say they now control the vast majority of the city.

But fighting still rages in several parts of the city. A convoy advancing from the west was forced to pull back.

The son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, Saif al-Islam, whom the rebels had said had been arrested, appeared at a hotel held by pro-Gaddafi forces.

The BBC’s Matthew Price, who is staying at Hotel Rixos and spoke to Saif al-Islam Gaddafi in the early hours of Tuesday, said he appeared buoyed up and full of adrenalin.

Saif al-Islam said the rebels had fallen into a “trap” in Tripoli, and that pro-Gaddafi forces had broken their backbone.

He had been widely seen as his father’s future successor. On Sunday the rebels claimed they had captured him, along with other members of his family.

Asked if Col Gaddafi was safe and in Tripoli, Saif al-Islam replied: “Of course.”

The Libyan leader’s whereabouts are still unclear. His sprawling Bab al-Azizia compound is being defended by loyalist troops.

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Rebels enter Green Square

Jubilant rebel fighters pushed their way into the heart of Tripoli on Sunday.

BBC team attacked

BBC reporter Rupert Wingfield-Hayes was accompanying rebels into central Tripoli when pro-Gaddafi forces attacked his convoy.

A diplomatic source told AFP news agency that Col Gaddafi could still be there. He has not been seen in public for months, although he has broadcast audio messages from undisclosed locations.

In a message broadcast late on Sunday, the Libyan leader urged residents to “save Tripoli” from the rebels.

Ambush

The rebels swept into Tripoli following an uprising in the capital on Saturday. They who were greeted by jubilant crowds in central Green Square when they arrived on Sunday.

Rebel fighters have set up checkpoints in parts of the city, and say reinforcements arriving by boat. But they have been meeting stiff resistance in a number of areas.

A rebel spokesman said his forces had come under fire from tanks emerging from Col Gaddafi’s compound at Bab al-Azizia in western Tripoli early on Monday. Witnesses say there has been sustained gunfire in the area throughout the day.

Gaddafi loyalists remain in control of the area further south around the Rixos Hotel, where many Western journalists are based.

And rebels coming in from the west were ambushed by Gaddafi loyalists using anti-aircraft fire. The rebels were forced to pull out of the city late on Monday.

“We are bracing ourselves for another night of intense street fighting,” a Tripoli resident told the BBC.

“I think Gaddafi security forces will resort to guerrilla warfare because they know they do not have the support of the people.”

But another resident said rebel fighters were “breaking into people’s houses, stealing everything”, adding that the rebel assault would be “a disaster for Libya and Nato”.

In other developments:

• Pro-Gaddafi forces fire a suspected Scud missile from near their stronghold city of Sirte, US defence officials tell Reuters news agency
• Col Gaddafi’s eldest son Muhammad reportedly escaped from rebel custody hours after being detained
• China and Russia issue statements urging Gaddafi forces to stop fighting
• UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon says leaders of regional blocs will meet in New York later this week
• Egypt formally recognises the rebel National Transitional Council as the legitimate representative of the Libyan people

Flags torn down

The BBC’s Tripoli correspondent, Rana Jawad, who has been unable to report openly since March, says people in her district in eastern Tripoli were woken by the imam at the local mosque singing the national anthem of the pre-Gaddafi monarchy.

She says there is a sense that the end is near, and that the rebels have achieved what they wanted.

In Green Square rebel supporters tore down the green flags of the Gaddafi government and trampled on portraits of the colonel.

World leaders have urged Col Gaddafi to step down. US President Barack Obama said elements of the Gaddafi regime continued to pose a threat.

“But this much is clear: the Gaddafi regime is coming to an end and the future of Libya is in the hands of its people,” he said.

He appealed to Col Gaddafi to reduce further bloodshed by “explicitly relinquishing power to the people of Libya and calling on those forces that continue to fight to lay down their arms”.

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