Energetic Libyan rebels had taken control over the majority of Tripoli in a lightning advance Sunday, enjoying the victory in Green Square, the actual emblematic heart of Moammar Gadhafi’s regime. Gadhafi’s defenders quickly dissolved away as his 42-year rule crumbled, however the leader’s location had been unknown and pockets of opposition remained.
State TV broadcast Gadhafi’s bitter pleas for Libyans to guard his regime. Opposition fighters seized his son and one-time heir apparent, Seif al-Islam, who together with his father faces charges associated with crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court in the Netherlands. Yet another son was under house arrest.
The surprising rebel breakthrough, after a long deadlock in Libya’s 6-month-old civil war, had been the culmination of a closely synchronised strategy by rebels, NATO as well as anti-Gadhafi residents inside Tripoli, rebel leaders stated. Rebel fighters from the west swept over 20 miles (30 kilometers) within hours Sunday, taking town after town and also overpowering a major military base as citizens poured out to cheer all of them. At the same time, Tripoli residents privately armed by rebels rose up.
- Libya protesters overtake Tripoli./AP Photo
When rebels arrived at the gates of Tripoli, the special battalion entrusted by Gadhafi with guarding the main city quickly gave up. The main reason: Its commander, whose brother had been executed by Gadhafi in years past, had been secretly loyal to the rebellion, a senior rebel official Fathi al-Baja informed The Associated Press.
Al-Baja, the head of the rebels’ political committee, stated the opposition’s National Transitional Council had been focusing on the offensive for the past 3 months, coordinating with NATO as well as rebels within Tripoli. Sleeper cells were placed in the main city, equipped by rebel smugglers. On Thursday and Friday, NATO increased attacks within the capital, and on Saturday, the sleeper cells started to rise up.
President Barack Obama stated Libya is “slipping from the grasp of a tyrant” and advised Gadhafi to turn over power to prevent more bloodshed.
“The future of Libya is now in the hands of the Libyan people,” Obama mentioned in a statement from Martha’s Vineyard, exactly where he is vacationing. He assured to work closely with rebels.
By the early hours of Monday, opposition fighters managed most of the capital. The seizure of Green Square held serious symbolic value – the plaza had been the scene of pro-Gadhafi rallies prepared by the regime almost every night, and Gadhafi delivered speeches to his loyalists from the historical Red Fort which overlooks the square.
Rebels and Tripoli citizens set up checkpoints around the city, although pockets of pro-Gadhafi fighters remained. In one area, AP reporters with all the rebels were stopped and told to take a different path because of regime snipers close by.
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