22 Aug 2011

Libyan rebels have taken control of the capital Tripoli's Green Square, as the end of Colonel Gaddafi's regime appears to draw ever closer.



Guns are being fired in celebration.
"They are wanting to show how relieved they are. They're tearing down all the Gaddafi posters and pulling down all the green national flags."
It comes after the International Criminal Court confirmed to Sky News that Saif Al-Islam, Colonel Gaddafi's son, has been detained.
Rebels met scenes of jubilation and no resistance from Gaddafi's troops as they entered the capital.

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi is now detained by the ICC
Alex Crawford said that as opposition fighters entered the city, their cars gridlocked the roads and hundreds of people came out onto the streets to greet them.
The rebels responded with celebratory gunfire, she said.
She said: "These scenes are amazing - there are hundreds of people who have come out onto the streets to greet this convoy of rebel soldiers.
"You can hear them singing and dancing, it is an amazing scene.
"We are now just a very short distance from the centre, with more and more people are coming onto the streets.


"They (the rebels) had been expecting much more resistance but there has been very little."
"There is absolutely no question in their minds that they have beaten Gaddafi and it is just a question of how he will go," she added.
The quick advance came after the fighters captured the base of the Khamis Brigade, 16 miles west of the capital.
It is said to be one of the best-trained and equipped units in the Libyan military and is commanded by Col Gaddafi's 27-year-old son Khamis.
Aside from the main rebel movement from the west of the city, fighting also broke out in the city's Mitiga airbase, while the suburb of Tajoura reportedly also fell under rebel control.


Gunfire was also heard near the hotel where foreign media are staying.
As the rebel movement came closer to the capital, Col Gaddafi broadcast a message on state television calling on Libyan people to come from all regions and liberate Tripoli.
He said he was "afraid Tripoli will burn" but that he will remain in the city until the end.
The Libyan government also earlier appealed for an immediate ceasefire and an end to Nato's "aggression".
Spokesman for Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's regime, Moussa Ibrahim, told reporters the rebels were nothing without Nato and they would never be able to take Libya.

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