Zenga zenga, dar dar!" ["Alley to alley, house to house."] That was the battle cry of Muammar Gaddafi and his sons

Zenga zenga, dar dar!" ["Alley to alley, house to house."] That was the battle cry of Muammar Gaddafi and his sons when they unleashed their forces on the rebels six months ago. Now the phrase may be coming back to haunt the Gaddafis, if they are, in fact, hiding where the rebels believe they are.On Thursday, closing in on a string of neighborhoods in central Tripoli, rebels often moved house to house through the narrow streets of Ghabour and Abu Salim — two of Gaddafi's last known strongholds in the Libyan capital. Taking cover behind walls and concrete barricades, groups of fighters from towns across the country dodged sniper fire and waged...

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Tripoli locals uncovering Gaddafi's mythical underworld

BENEATH the grassy courtyard of Muammar Gaddafi's compound, long tunnels connect bunkers, command centres and spiral staircases that lead to a luxurious home.When rebels took over the Tripoli compound on Wednesday, they discovered this long-rumoured underground network.Outsiders had never seen the tunnels beneath the Bab al-Aziziya compound. Many Libyans assume the passages connect all of Tripoli --which they say explains Gaddafi's ability to appear for speeches in places where no one saw him arrive.Some guess he fled the city through the tunnels, although because of damage from NATO bombing, it was impossible to determine whether the tunnels...

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Fierce battles erupt near Gadhafi Tripoli compound

intense battle has erupted between about 1,000 rebels surrounding two buildings filled with Moammar Gadhafi loyalists in the neighborhood next to the Libyan leader's captured compound.Associated Press reporters on the scene Thursday said rebels were hammering the buildings with heavy gunfire and a huge explosion from the battle scene sent a large plume of white smoke.Mahmoud Bakoush, a rebel commander at the site, says there are rumors that one of Gadhafi's sons might be in the buildings, but they are unconfirmed.&nb...

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Libyan rebels said they were sending in special forces units in their hunt for fugitive strongman Muammar Gaddafi,

Libyan rebels said they were sending in special forces units in their hunt for fugitive strongman Muammar Gaddafi, whose supporters are now pinned down in pockets of resistance in the capital, Tripoli.The rebel leadership announced it was planning to move from the eastern city of Benghazi, where the revolution to topple Gaddafi began six months ago, to govern the country from Tripoli.Rumours of Gaddafi or his sons being cornered or sighted, swirled among excitable rebel fighters engaged in heavy machinegun and rocket exchanges. But even after his compound was overrun on Tuesday, hopes of a swift end to the war were still being frustrated by fierce...

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COLONEL Gaddafi yesterday called on women and children to help fight a desperate rearguard against rebels seizing the Libyan capital Tripoli

More than 1,000 fighters trying to find the fallen dictator besieged an apartment in the centre of the city in the belief he was holed up inside with his sons.He was nowhere to be seen but spoke via a broadcast on Syrian television urging women and children among his supporters to take up arms.Advertisement >>The tyrant declared: “Bring out the men and women this time to purify Tripoli. Bring out the young to protect all alleyways and districts. They must fight and not give up.”He urged the young to fight “street by street, alleyway by alleyway, house by house” and said women could fight “from inside their homes”.Witnesses said Gaddafi...

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Intense battles raged Thursday between about 1,000 rebels surrounding 10 buildings filled with Moammar Gadhafi loyalists in the neighborhood next to the Libyan leader’s captured compound

Intense battles raged Thursday between about 1,000 rebels surrounding 10 buildings filled with Moammar Gadhafi loyalists in the neighborhood next to the Libyan leader’s captured compound. Gadhafi, in a new audio message, called on Libyans to destroy the rebels.A regime spokesman told The Associated Press Gadhafi is safely in hiding and leading the battle against the rebels.AP reporters on the scene of the battle in the Abu Salim neighborhood said rebels were hammering at least 10 buildings sheltering Gadhafi loyalists with anti-aircraft guns. There were huge explosions, and the air was clogged with smoke. At least three of the buildings were burning.“They are holding at least 10 tall buildings. They have heavy weaponry, maybe even a tank,” Mohammed Karami, a rebel involved in the battle, said...

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Moammar Gadhafi loyalists who had been holding journalists in Tripoli's Rixos Hotel for five days "essentially just capitulated

Moammar Gadhafi loyalists who had been holding journalists in Tripoli's Rixos Hotel for five days "essentially just capitulated" upon realizing that most of the rest of the city had fallen to rebels, CNN's Matthew Chance said after his release Wednesday.Their release ended what some were beginning to fear was a hostage situation for the three dozen journalists who had been kept inside the blacked-out hotel as fighters loyal to the National Transitional Council fought their way into the Libyan capital. Chance, a senior international correspondent for CNN, said "the reality slowly dawned" on their guards that Gadhafi's government was collapsing."They really believed that Gadhafi was coming back, that he was beating the rebels," Chance said after his release. "That's what the government line...

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The release of £1bn of Libyan frozen assets is being held up at the UN by South African opposition.

South Africa's ANC-led government, past beneficiaries of millions of dollars in support from ousted Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi, is blocking efforts to unfreeze the money.South African president Jacob Zuma says the Nato backed revolution has undermined the "African Union's efforts and initiatives to handle the situation in Libya".But critics say his government is now in danger of being spectacularly on the wrong side of history. Britain has described its attitude as disappointing.African Union efforts to 'handle the situation' have largely been ineffective.African governments have tolerated Gaddafi's four decades of misrule in return for his patronage of pan-African causes.Critics are pointing out the irony of a government that was brought to power by civil struggle and foreign support,...

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Destroy rebels, demands defiant Gaddafi

Muammar Gaddafi has called on Libyans to "destroy" the rebels who have overtaken Tripoli and forced his regime into hiding.The appeal comes as intense fighting has erupted in the Libyan capital.The toppled dictator leader made the plea today in a brief audio statement broadcast on Al-Arabiya and other Arab stations.Fierce fighting broke out between about 1,000 rebels surrounding two buildings filled with Gaddafi loyalists in the neighbourhood next to the Libyan leader's captured compound.Reporters on the scene said rebels were hammering the buildings with heavy gunfire and a huge explosion from the battle scene sent a large plume of white smoke.A...

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Rebels say Gaddafi is cornered

Fighting in central Tripoli has continued - as rebels claim they have besieged a cluster of apartments where they believe Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and some of his sons are hiding.Rebels have been exchanging fire with Col Gaddafi troops inside the buildings, near the central Bab al Aziziyah compound.A fighter said: "They are together. They are in a small hole. Today we will finish. Today we will end that."Sky's correspondent Alex Crawford, in Tripoli, said it was apparent some of the fighters had become confused and shot some members of their own side."It is total chaos here," she said.Sky's Stuart Ramsay, also in Tripoli, said he believed the...

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journalists trapped in Tripoli's Rixos hotel Pro-Gaddafi gunmen bar more than 30 foreigners from leaving

Conditions have deteriorated sharply at the Rixos hotel in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, where more than 30 foreign journalists are trapped by fighting in the surrounding streets.The BBC's Matthew Price gave a graphic account of life inside the five-star hotel close to Muammar Gaddafi's compound of Bab al-Aziziya taken by rebels on Tuesday, describing it as "the siege of the Rixos"."It's a desperate situation," Price told Radio 4's Today programme. "The situation deteriorated massively overnight when it became clear we were unable to leave the hotel of our own free will … Gunmen were roaming around the corridors … Snipers were on the roof."The 35 foreigners at the hotel are mainly British and American journalists from the BBC, Sky, CNN, Fox, Reuters, Associated Press and Chinese television....

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Ship due to pick up Britons from Libya comes under fire

A Maltese ship which was due to rescue foreign nationals - nine of them British - from Tripoli, Libya, came under fire on Sunday and was forced to retreat, the Times of Malta has said.It said cargo ship Triva I was due leave Tripoli on Sunday morning.The MoD said HMS Liverpool had towed a Maltese-registered vessel, damaged by hostile fire, to open waters.On Sunday, Foreign Office Minister Alistair Burt said up to nine Britons had decided to leave on a Maltese ship.Heavy fighting is taking place in Tripoli around the compound of embattled Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi, after rebels seized control of much of the city.Jubilant crowds have gathered in central Green Square, previously the scene of nightly pro-Gaddafi demonstrations.According to the Times of Malta, about 15 Maltese who remained...

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2,200 people have been killed since the Syrian government's crackdown on protesters began in mid-March

2,200 people have been killed since the Syrian government's crackdown on protesters began in mid-March, the United Nations says.UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay gave the new toll at an emergency session of the UN Human Rights Council.The UN previously put the number of dead at between 1,900 and 2,000.Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on Sunday that his government was in no danger of falling.And he warned that any foreign military intervention would backfire on those who carry it out.Navi Pillay opened the session by saying: "The gravity of ongoing violations and brutal attacks against the peaceful protesters in that country demand your continued attention."She went on: "As of today, over 2,200 people have been killed since mass protests began in mid-March, with more than...

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Colonel Gaddafi could flee to a country not signed up to the International Criminal Court such as Venezuela or Cuba

The Brother Leader is alive and remains in Libya, one senior government source said. But he added that plans are on the table to spirit him out of the country to allow breathing space for a peace process led by the National Transitional Council which has now claimed control of most of the capital Tripoli.Despite official denials, South Africa will play a key role in negotiations about Gaddafi's fate. It is not only one of most influential countries in the African Union, but its President Jacob Zuma was appointed the AU's chief mediator in the crisis and has visited Col Gaddafi twice since hostilities began in February.A South African air force...

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Gaddafi vanishes as rebels triumph

Muammar Gaddafi has apparently vanished after Libyan rebels claimed to be in control of most of Tripoli following their lightning advance on the capital.The international community called on Gaddafi to step down and moved ahead with post-war planning as euphoric residents celebrated in the Green Square, the symbolic heart of the Gaddafi regime.Colleagues warned he would not go easily, although two of his sons were captured."The real moment of victory is when Gaddafi is captured," the head of the opposition's National Transitional Council, Mustafa Abdel-Jalil, said.A top American diplomat said his whereabouts were unknown, but the US Defence Department...

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