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Gaddafi Falls: Libyan rebels in 'final push' for capital by tony451: 10:39pm On Aug 21, 2011 |
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has pledged once again to remain in Tripoli until the end, as opposition fighters battled their way towards the capital to reinforce rebels who rose up in the city overnight. Fighting continued into Sunday morning in a few central and eastern neighbourhoods, and rebel flags were raised over some buildings, witnesses said. Much of the population took cover inside their homes. The clashes came a day after forces loyal to Gaddafi used heavy machine guns and mortars to confront lightly armed opposition forces and protesters who took to the streets. As opposition fighters continued what they called their "final push" for the capital, Gaddafi addressed the nation in an audio message aired on state television on Sunday. In it, he refused to surrender and pledged to emerge "victorious" from the fighting for Tripoli. He also called on the people of Libya to come from all regions to liberate Tripoli, saying he was in the city with them and that together they would fight to the end. "We will not, we will not abandon Tripoli to the occupants and their agents. I am with you in this battle," he said. "We do not surrender and, by God's grace, we will emerge victorious." 'Take over Tajoura' He called on his supporters to "march on (the district of) Tajoura in tens of thousands to purge the officials of the colonisers," in a reference to the NATO-backed rebels. "Today we must take over Tajoura. I fear, if you let them, they will destroy Tripoli," he warned. Meanwhile, outside of Tripoli, rebel fighters closed in. They advanced tens of kilometres from Zawiyah, to the west, seizing the town of al-Mayah and putting themselves within several kilometres of the capital's suburbs. Other rebel formations remained further way, stationed to the south, in Gharyan, and to the east, in Zlitan. Despite the greatest challenge yet to his power, Gaddafi has remained pugnacious. In a telephoned audio address a day earlier, he exhorted his followers and congratulated them for defeating the "rats". His most prominent son, Saif al-Islam, also gave a televised speech, saying the regime did not know how to raise the "white flag" of surrender. Regime uses mortars and anti-aircraft guns Rebels in the west have taken numerous towns and hundreds of kilometres of ground in the past month. Meanwhile, gunfire and explosions were reported near the Bab al-Aziziyah - a sprawling regime command and control compound - and in the Souq al-Jomaa and Abu Sita neighbourhoods. Rebels said some regime troops defending the Mitiga air base in the capital had abandoned their posts, though mass defections were not reported. Taher, a resident near the Bab al-Aziziyah, told Al Jazeera that men in his neighbourhood, some of whom were armed with AK-47 assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers, had begun protesting last night and blocked the roads. Around 30 to 40 regime security forces responded on Sunday morning with assault rifles and anti-aircraft guns. Some took positions on the rooftops of the nearby Nigerian Embassy and an eye clinic and opened fire, forcing the men to take cover inside the walled compounds of neighbourhood homes. Youssef, another Tripoli resident who lives in the Abu Sita neighbourhood, said regime gunmen had taken positions on the top of the nearby Libyana mobile company building and were firing indiscriminately, as other forces launched mortar rounds. The streets in the area were deserted, he said, as occasional gunfire and booming explosions could be heard in the background. The rebel flag, a tricoloured emblem of the country's first post-colonial days, flew over many buildings in the neighbourhood, he said. "We are waiting for the revolutionaries to come to conquer Tripoli, because we don't have weapons to defend ourselves," he said. "Gaddafi troops are using heavy artillery and heavy weapons, and we don't know what's going to happen in the next two to three hours." Government said rebels 'dealt with' Protests began at around 9pm local time on Saturday, as residents took to the streets in numerous areas of the capital, many of them emerging from mosques and chanting "God is great". Expatriate Libyans speaking to family members in the capital said men went out to protest, some with weapons, while children and women were asked to stay home. Meanwhile, NATO aircraft reportedly carried out bombing raids after nightfall. Government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim earlier said rebels had tried to attack Tripoli but had been "dealt with". Ibrahim said that pro-regime volunteers had repelled attacks in several neighbourhoods. He dismissed mounting speculation that the regime was on the brink, but more gunfire was heard after he spoke on television. 'Operation Mermaid Dawn' A senior official in the rebel National Transitional Council (NTC) said on Sunday that operations in Tripoli were co-ordinated between opponents of Gaddafi in the city and the rebels in the east. "The zero hour has started. The rebels in Tripoli have risen up," said Abdel Hafiz Ghoga, vice-chairman of the NTC, in the eastern city of Benghazi. "There is co-ordination with the rebels in Tripoli. This was a pre-set plan. They've been preparing for a while. There's co-ordination with the rebels approaching from the east, west and south," he said. Click here for more of Al Jazeera's special coverage Colonel Fadlallah Haroun, a military commander in Benghazi, said the battles marked the beginning of Operation Mermaid Dawn. Tripoli's nickname in Libya is "Bride of the Sea," or mermaid. Haroun told the AP news agency that weapons were assembled and sent by tugboats to Tripoli on Friday night. "The fighters in Tripoli are rising up in two places at the moment - some are in the Tajoura neighbourhood and the other is near the Matiga airport," he told Al-Jazeera. Tajoura has been known since the beginning of the uprising in February as one of the Tripoli neighbourhoods most openly opposed to Gaddafi's rule. The Matiga airport is located in the city, while the international airport is located around 30km south. A rebel representative for Tripoli on the NTC told AP that rebels were surrounding almost every neighbourhood in the capital, and there was especially heavy fighting in Fashloum, Tajoura and Souq al-Jomaa. In Benghazi, thousands of Libyans celebrated in the main city square, shooting fireworks and guns into the air, and waving rebel flags. http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/inpictures/2011/08/201182191115411122.html http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/08/201182193129278233.html http://english.aljazeera.net/watch_now/ |
Re: Gaddafi Falls: Libyan rebels in 'final push' for capital by tony451: 10:47pm On Aug 21, 2011 |
Saif Gaddafi , Muammar's son has been arrested. |
Re: Gaddafi Falls: Libyan rebels in 'final push' for capital by OAM4J: 10:51pm On Aug 21, 2011 |
His hours are numbered! |
Re: Gaddafi Falls: Libyan rebels in 'final push' for capital by tony451: 10:52pm On Aug 21, 2011 |
On al-jazeera gaddafi is literally begging people to come and fight for him. This is what happens to tyrants. |
Re: Gaddafi Falls: Libyan rebels in 'final push' for capital by Croatian(m): 10:56pm On Aug 21, 2011 |
good thing - one tyrant less bad thing - greedy european powers want Libyan oil |
Re: Gaddafi Falls: Libyan rebels in 'final push' for capital by maddock(m): 10:56pm On Aug 21, 2011 |
Whao that was really quick, before Tuesday Gadafi would definitely be in custoday. |
Re: Gaddafi Falls: Libyan rebels in 'final push' for capital by AjanleKoko: 11:04pm On Aug 21, 2011 |
tony_450: The guy fall hand sha. So all this while na shakara. Just a few air strikes softened him up, and some rag tag Bedouin tribesmen have rushed his capital, just like that. And some guymen on NL were hailing Libya's military? SMH jare. With all that oil cash, our guy no even get one nuclear warhead or two on the cheap from Kazhakstan. Fall hand general Croatian: problem is, what can they even do with the oil, even if they grab it? Last thing the world economy needs right now is falling oil prices |
Re: Gaddafi Falls: Libyan rebels in 'final push' for capital by Nobody: 11:06pm On Aug 21, 2011 |
Indifferent none the less. The rebels are rounding up people fortunate to be black africans as merecenaries. God help the Nigerians stuck there. |
Re: Gaddafi Falls: Libyan rebels in 'final push' for capital by heynew: 11:13pm On Aug 21, 2011 |
whoever wins this war Libya is still doomed, how will all this weapons be retrieved from this rebels, after the fall of Gaddafi Libya will definitely be a lawless state, |
Re: Gaddafi Falls: Libyan rebels in 'final push' for capital by ijele(m): 11:16pm On Aug 21, 2011 |
In hours the cookie will crumble |
Re: Gaddafi Falls: Libyan rebels in 'final push' for capital by AjanleKoko: 11:16pm On Aug 21, 2011 |
donspony: Shyt. Is government listening, anybody? |
Re: Gaddafi Falls: Libyan rebels in 'final push' for capital by tony451: 11:18pm On Aug 21, 2011 |
heynew: This is not Nigeria where it is everyone for himself. These people are united and fighting for a cause. I doubt they'll destroy the country they have fought so long for |
Re: Gaddafi Falls: Libyan rebels in 'final push' for capital by ijele(m): 11:19pm On Aug 21, 2011 |
GADDAFI is pleading ''help, help, somebody pls help Tripoli is falling like Badgad!! |
Re: Gaddafi Falls: Libyan rebels in 'final push' for capital by ijele(m): 11:21pm On Aug 21, 2011 |
The End is near for de TYRANT! |
Re: Gaddafi Falls: Libyan rebels in 'final push' for capital by tony451: 11:22pm On Aug 21, 2011 |
Presidential Guard has surrendered. |
Re: Gaddafi Falls: Libyan rebels in 'final push' for capital by ijele(m): 11:25pm On Aug 21, 2011 |
GADDAFI'S presidential Guard surrenders! |
Re: Gaddafi Falls: Libyan rebels in 'final push' for capital by ijele(m): 11:28pm On Aug 21, 2011 |
TWO SOUTH AFRICAN PLANE SPOTTED IN TRIPOLI AIRPORT! It's like GADDAFI 's planning 2 zoom off 2 Exile! |
Re: Gaddafi Falls: Libyan rebels in 'final push' for capital by ijele(m): 11:33pm On Aug 21, 2011 |
Post Gaddafi is underway, will it end up like post Saddam? |
Re: Gaddafi Falls: Libyan rebels in 'final push' for capital by ijele(m): 11:35pm On Aug 21, 2011 |
After Libya, pls NATO let's head 2 Syria! |
Re: Gaddafi Falls: Libyan rebels in 'final push' for capital by youngmonie: 11:41pm On Aug 21, 2011 |
I just got one crucial question, who is going to pay for the clean up of Libya because this country is not going to be the same again!!, or are we going to see another system of divie an rule?? |
Re: Gaddafi Falls: Libyan rebels in 'final push' for capital by maddock(m): 11:43pm On Aug 21, 2011 |
One of my major concern is for their airport to start working o, still got my luggage trapped in with their national carrier afriqiyah abi wetin b their name again, |
Re: Gaddafi Falls: Libyan rebels in 'final push' for capital by justwise(m): 11:44pm On Aug 21, 2011 |
youngmonie: That is bound to happen after 42yrs of one family and one tribe ruling the whole country. |
Re: Gaddafi Falls: Libyan rebels in 'final push' for capital by tunnytox(m): 11:46pm On Aug 21, 2011 |
Gaddafi can go to hell for all I care stupid and greedy tyrant. |
Re: Gaddafi Falls: Libyan rebels in 'final push' for capital by otokx(m): 12:16am On Aug 22, 2011 |
This should be a lesson to other tyranical leaders in the world. |
Re: Gaddafi Falls: Libyan rebels in 'final push' for capital by nolongTing: 12:18am On Aug 22, 2011 |
[size=13pt]Spokesman says presidential Guard surrender is a load of crap, oh! Rebels are running for their lives out of Tripoli back to the east! [/size] |
Re: Gaddafi Falls: Libyan rebels in 'final push' for capital by tony451: 12:21am On Aug 22, 2011 |
nolongTing: http://english.aljazeera.net/watch_now/ See for yourself |
Re: Gaddafi Falls: Libyan rebels in 'final push' for capital by Nobody: 12:29am On Aug 22, 2011 |
Let's wait and see as another chapter in history unfolds. |
Re: Gaddafi Falls: Libyan rebels in 'final push' for capital by nolongTing: 12:46am On Aug 22, 2011 |
tony_450: lol! They have already destroyed their country with NATO Libya will not recover in 20 years from now - they have destroyed themselves. [size=13pt]This is not a revolution its self-destruction[/size]. |
Re: Gaddafi Falls: Libyan rebels in 'final push' for capital by honeric01(m): 12:47am On Aug 22, 2011 |
When virtually everyone in Tripoli is armed with Guns? |
Re: Gaddafi Falls: Libyan rebels in 'final push' for capital by Dawdy(m): 1:00am On Aug 22, 2011 |
Breaking news! Gaddafi has been detained. |
Re: Gaddafi Falls: Libyan rebels in 'final push' for capital by nolongTing: 1:04am On Aug 22, 2011 |
Dawdy: The rebels claim they have detained his 2 sons - but not Baba Gaddafi Wether they capture/kill Gaddafi is irrelevant now, NATO is 28 of the richest countries in the world, they have dropped thousands of bombs which cost Billions it should have been over in less than a week! Anyway now the real fight begins - establishment of PEACE with Al-Qaeda rebels in Libya |
Re: Gaddafi Falls: Libyan rebels in 'final push' for capital by honeric01(m): 1:06am On Aug 22, 2011 |
They keep saying, saying, can't they show the pictures or videos? |
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