THE BATTLE for Tripoli turned into a manhunt for Muammar Gadafy last night, as pockets controlled by loyalist forces dwindled rapidly and the Libyan leader’s last vestiges of power fell away at the end of a 42-year dictatorship.
Libyan state television, the vehicle for relentless government propaganda throughout the Gadafy years, went off the air as rebels seized its Tripoli transmitters and tightened their grip on the capital.
Government troops kept up resistance in some areas of the city, but were pummelled by Nato warplanes, which struck at least 40 targets in and around the city in 48 hours – the most intense bombing since the air campaign started more than five months ago. By nightfall the battle was focused on the wreckage of Gadafy’s stronghold, Bab al-Aziziya. The compound was almost flattened by earlier Nato sorties, but it is believed to sit atop a network of underground bunkers.
Crowds gathered in Tripoli’s Green Square to celebrate the arrival of the rebels at one point, but many other residents stayed indoors while street fighting continued in other districts. The head of the opposition National Transitional Council, Mustafa Abdel Jalil cautioned journalists at the rebel headquarters in Benghazi: “The real moment of victory is when Gadafy is captured.”
Most Tripoli residents welcomed the arrival of the rebels, who swept in riding a noisy cavalcade of pick-ups. But some did not. Tariq Hussain (32) admitted to ambivalence about the rebels’ victory. “I’m afraid of them, to be honest,” he said. Others, however, were jubilant. “Forty-two years too much. It’s game over, Gadafy,” Abdul Mohammad said, as a group of teenagers stomped on a green Gadafy baseball hat.
“There’s no person here supporting Gadafy,” Nasar al-Fahdi, a translator, explained. “It was just about fear. When someone says you have to support him, and he has a whole army behind him, what can you say?”
In areas liberated by the rebels, the mood was euphoric. Locals stood on street corners, flashing V-signs as opposition militia from towns across Libya swept past. Women cheered and whooped from upper storeys; by the afternoon mosques were broadcasting polite requests not to fire in the air but to conserve ammunition instead. Nobody listened. From checkpoints hastily set up, fighters continuously let off a festive pop-pop.
Meanwhile, world leaders called for Gadafy loyalists to stop fighting and for the leader to give himself up. President Barack Obama said the US would be a friend and partner to Libya, but urged rebels not to to seek justice through violent reprisals. “The Gadafy regime is coming to an end and the future of Libya is in the hands of its people,” he said.
Rebel forces detained three of Gadafy’s sons, Saif al-Islam, Saadi and Mohammed, over the weekend, although Mohammed was later said to have fled with loyalist help. But the veteran leader’s whereabouts were unknown last night. He has not been seen in public for months.
A US state department official, Jeffrey Feltman said in an ABC television interview that Washington did not know where Gadafy was, but Pentagon spokesman Col Dave Lapan said American officials still believe he was in Libya. “We do not have any information that he has left the country,” he said.
Gadafy is wanted for crimes against humanity by the international criminal court, along with Saif al-Islam and his intelligence chief, Abdullah Senussi, for their role in the suppression of the anti-government protests which began in February. – ( GuardianService)