Anti-regime protests erupted Sunday in a number of Tripoli local communities in which hundreds braved the bullets of snipers located on top of high structures, citizens as well as opposition fighters stated. Simultaneously, countless rebel forces advanced to within 15 miles west of the capital and have been dashing forward in pickups as well as on foot. Heavy machine gun fire and explosions rang out throughout several areas of Tripoli on the second day of assaults by rebels belonging to “sleeping cells” within the city which has been Muammar Gaddafi’s stronghold through the entire 6-month-old civil war.
Mukhtar Lahab, a rebel leader closing in on Tripoli and a former captain in Gaddafi’s army, mentioned relatives within the capital reported mass protests in four neighborhoods considered to be sympathetic to the opposition: Fashlum, Souk al-Jouma, Tajoura and Janzour. He explained mosques there were rallying citizens with chants of “Allahu Akbar” or “God is great,” broadcast on loudspeakers.
Snipers on high buildings have been shooting on protesters in one or more of the four neighborhoods, stated Lahab. Residents contacted in the city by telephone furthermore reported snipers firing on civilians. Concurrently, countless rebels were advancing rapidly toward Tripoli from the west and the south. Those invoved with the west moved past the village of Jedaim to within 15 miles of Tripoli, according to an Associated Press reporter at the front.
Rebel Murad Dabdoub informed The Associated Press that Gaddafi’s forces have been pounding rebel positions west of the city with rockets, mortars and anti-aircraft fire. “We are not going back. God willing, this evening we will enter Tripoli,” stated Issam Wallani, another rebel. He spoke from Jedaim, that has been converted into the staging area for fighters moving toward the capital. He spoke as pickups packed with fighters headed to the front and the thud of mortar shells was heard at two-minute intervals.
Libyan rebels stated Saturday that they had launched their first attack on Tripoli in coordination with NATO and gunbattles and mortar rounds rocked the city. NATO aircraft also made heavy bombing runs right after nightfall, with deafening explosions booming throughout the city.
An AP reporter in Tripoli, at the same time, stated most of the staff at the Tripoli hotel where foreign journalists are generally staying did not show up for work on Sunday, a development which indicates residents were too frightened to venture out. “There are thousands and thousands of soldiers who are willing to defend the city,” Libyan government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim informed a news conference in Tripoli. He charged the rebels of doing atrocities in areas under their control and appealed for a cease-fire. He cautioned of “disasters” if Gaddafi’s regime falls.
A Tripoli resident stated the capital was practically abandoned on Sunday, along with shops shuttered and no cars or even pedestrians out on the streets. A number of areas suffered power black outs, according to the resident, who had been reached by telephone and would only identify himself by one name, al-Tarhouni.
NATO stated the actual shifting battle lines and concentration of combating in towns and villages are making it harder to identify and engage targets for airstrikes. “It’s much tougher to do in an urban area,” he explained. “This requires very precise and deep intelligence to achieve without endangering the civilian population.”
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