Rebels capture Gaddafi’s compound in Tripoli

[Turborama]

Source: AFP

TRIPOLI,(AFP) – Rebel fighters captured Muoamer Gaddafi’s heavily defended Bab al-Aziziya compound and headquarters in Tripoli on Tuesday after a day of heavy fighting, an AFP correspondent witnessed.

The defenders had fled, and there was no immediate word on the whereabouts of Gaddafi or his family after the insurgents breached the defences as part of a massive assault that began in the morning.

“Rebels breached the surrounding cement walls and entered inside. They have taken Bab al-Azizya. Completely. It is finished,” the correspondent said.

“It is an incredible sight.”


Read more: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/08/rebels-capture-gaddafi%E2%80%99s-compound-in-tripoli/

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From the BBC as it happened...

1634: Hundreds of Libyan rebels have stormed Col Gaddafi's compound in Tripoli - AP.
1633: Rebels say they have taken control of the eastern oil hub of Ras Lanouf, AFP reports.
1625: Al-Jazeera sources: "Rebels gain access to the home of Muammar Gaddafi inside Bab al-Aziziya compound."
1622: The rebels tell AFP that they are in control of one of the entrances of Bab al-Aziziya.

Regularly updated blog and live stream of the the BBC's TV coverage here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14610722

From the Guardian's live blog...

4.35pm: The Associated Press is now also reporting that "hundreds of Libyan rebels" have stormed Muammar Gaddafi's main military compound in Tripoli. An Associated Press reporter saw the rebels enter the gates of the Bab al-Aziziya after hours of fierce gun battles.

=snip=

4.32pm: AFP is quoting a rebel colonel as saying the rebels control one of the gates to Muammar Gaddafi's Bab al-Aziziya compound. But is Gaddafi in there? Gaddafi's former close aide Abdel-Salam Jalloud, who defected earlier this month, said he thought the Libyan leader was moving around the outskirts of Tripoli, taking shelter in homes, small hotels, and mosques. But senior rebel official Ahmed Jebril said he thought Gaddafi was at the Bab al-Aziziya compound. "He was taken by surprise. He never expected the speed by which fighters have taken over Tripoli or the collapse of his forces. It was too quick. He was not prepared to leave Tripoli."

More: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2011/aug/23/libya-tripoli-battle-live-updates

[gateley]

1. Any sign of Gaddafi? I was just watching CNN and a reporter

on the street in Tripoli was talking to rebels coming out of some building and they had files -- medical files of Gaddafi's family? -- and the reporter verified this.

I got the impression they're still being cautious because the compound is enormous and who knows who might be hiding where, but that the celebrations are growing.

They mentioned a "new flag" on MSNBC -- have you seen that?

[Turborama]

2. The BBC are reposting a report of the rebel's flag being raised over his compound...

1646: Rebel TV was also broadcasting a song: "Tripoli, I love you. I am madly in love with you... Tripoli do not fear. Hopefully, victory is near."

1645: Rebels have hoisted their flag over Col Gaddafi's home in the Bab al-Aziziya compound, rebel TV reports.

From: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14610722

:hi:

[gateley]

7. Thanks!! nt

[defendandprotect]

3. Evidently the compound is 6 square miles -- or roughly so?

Watching BBC --

[formercia]

4. Not counting the underground facilities.

Daffy could hole-up there for Months.

The 'Rebels' should just seal the entrances and exits with Concrete, after fair warning to surrender, and leave it for the Archaeologists.

[defendandprotect]

6. Agree -- "We live in Tripoli, we die in Tripoli" ... ??? ... but does seem that there

may also be an outlet to the sea -- ?

Certainly, I don't think he'll allow himself to be captured alive!!


And, imo, with this man all of the heads of the government-gun-running nations should

also be held responsible for him --

[AndyTiedye]

10. If I Were a Ruthless Dictator Building Myself a 6sq Mile Compound, It Would Have Secret Exits

[formercia]

14. It does have 'secret' exits

..some more secret than others.

Choosing which one to take.....:rofl:

[AndyTiedye]

16. We'd Take the One That Me and My Family Had Built Ourselves

Even the old "kill the workers after they build it" scheme isn't foolproof, they might have told someone what they were doing.

[formercia]

18. It may have been built by foreign contractors

Daffy didn't trust his own people very much.

He could always crawl out through the Sewer, like in the movie 'Shawshank Redemption'. His hair could scrub it clean in the process.

[florida08]

5. watching Al Jazeera

Can hear sporadic gun fire. Turkey has offered monetary support for rebels. Oil cabal is ecstatic

[gateley]

9. The media here has commented that they're unsure if the

gunfire is jubilation or fighting -- did AJE say either way?

[florida08]

15. seems to be in victory ...

:-)

[gateley]

21. Good - I'm so happy for those people! Thanks!! nt

[CJvR]

8. Rebs at the airraid monument!

AlJaz shows rebels have reached the monument over the Reagan airraid where Gaddafi held his February speech.

[gateley]

11. Wow!

[Turborama]

13. Watching footage of that now.

Incredible!

[Turborama]

12. Al Jazeera English broadcasting from inside Gaddafi's compound, link >>>

Here: http://english.aljazeera.net/watch_now/

[florida08]

17. AJ reporting Gaddafi's compound

has underground tunnels..some of them going to the sea

[oldhippydude]

20. been watching AlJazeera

I'm going to call my local cable company for support... i would gladly give up fokkks for AJ

[florida08]

22. lol..heard that

[truthisfreedom]

19. Hmm. Well let's hope he didn't booby-trap the whole thing.

Seems like his style.

[florida08]

23. there are still pockets of resistance

but they're not stopping until it's done. Red Cross sending assisstance to hospitals. 5 Grad rockets launched into compound. Opposition fighters seen celebrating inside compound.

[Turborama]

24. In Gaddafi's compound: 'jubilation tempered by the terror of being shot'

Sean Smith witnessed the chaos and deep sense of fear as Bab al-Aziziya in Tripoli was taken over by opposition fighters

Sean Smith, The Guardian, Wednesday August 24 2011

When I got to the compound, there was chaos and confusion. Lots of people were running in, while others were running out. There was a group of rebels at the entrance who were trying to stop the people going in but they didn't have much success.

People were running through, worried about snipers from different directions. From the main entrance, I could see Gaddafi's house, bombed by the Americans in the 1980s and left in its wrecked state as a monument to US aggression. There was also a museum. A dome-shaped building was on fire.

More: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/aug/24/libya-gaddafi-compound-rebels-eyewitness


Libyan rebels celebrate overrunning the Bab Al-Aziziya compound in Tripoli.
Photograph: Sergey Ponomarev/AP

Libya: Gaddafi citadel falls but his fate remains unknown

Dictator and his family nowhere to be found as rebel fighters storm Bab al-Aziziya compound in Tripoli

Luke Harding in Tripoli and Julian Borger
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday August 23 2011 22.47 BST

Muammar Gaddafi's seat of power in Tripoli has fallen as rebel fighters swarmed into his fortified compound, stamping on a gilded bronze head of the deposed despot and setting fire to his famous tent in a cathartic end to his 42-year dictatorship.

But the Libyan leader and his family, were nowhere to be found. If they had indeed spent the last days of their rule inside their walled citadel, Bab al-Aziziya, they had since melted away, possibly through the labyrinth of tunnels that lie beneath the compound, an insurance policy against such a day.

Gaddafi told a television station that his withdrawal from the compound had been a tactical move, Reuters reported. He also vowed death or victory in the fight against "aggression", telling al-Orouba TV that his Tripoli headquarters had been levelled to the ground after 64 Nato air strikes.

In the streets beyond the compound, gunfire continued to ring out, although it was unclear whether it was a result of continued skirmishes or celebrations. There were also reports of sporadic looting as darkness fell. Rebel leaders said 400 people had been killed and 2,000 injured during the fighting. With Gaddafi's whereabouts unknown, nobody could say for sure whether the bloodshed was over for good.

More: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/aug/23/libya-gaddafi-compound-rebel-fighters


A rebel fighter arrives in Gaddafi’s Tripoli compound, Bab al-Aziziya,
with a looted golden gun as the dictator’s tent burns.
Photograph: Sean Smith for the Guardian