Gaddafi Condemns Rebels As Tripoli Faces Siege

BENGHAZI, Libya (Shabab Libya) – Libyan rebels said they launched their first attack on Tripoli in coordination with NATO late Saturday, and reporters heard unusually heavy gunfire and explosions in the capital. The fighting erupted just hours after opposition fighters captured the key city of Zawiyah nearby.

Gunbattles and mortar rounds were heard clearly at the hotel where foreign correspondents stay in Tripoli. NATO aircraft made heavy bombing runs after nightfall, with loud explosions booming across the city. “We planned this operation with NATO, our Arab associates and our rebel fighters in Tripoli with commanders in Benghazi,” Mustafa Abdel-Jalil, the head of the rebel leadership council, told the Arab satellite channel Al-Jazeera. Benghazi, hundreds of miles east of Tripoli, is the rebels’ de facto capital. (See pictures of the battle for Libya)

A city under siege: exclusive testimony from inside Tripoli  

TRIPOLI, Libya (France24) – In a rare interview, a resident of Tripoli describes the tense atmosphere inside the city as rebels prepare to move in on the capital. It is increasingly difficult for journalists to reach anyone in Tripoli, which remains under the control of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. However, a Twitter user who goes by @2011feb17contacted us to describe how the capital’s residents are preparing for what many hope may be its imminent fall at the hands of the rebels.

Fighting rages in Tripoli as rebels advance

Rebels capture key cities as advance on Tripoli continues

REUTERS – Libyan rebels fought fierce battles in two coastal cities on either side of Tripoli in a drive to topple Muammar Gaddafi, and also claimed the Libyan leader’s former No. 2 had defected.

Sustained blasts from rocket-propelled grenades, mortars and anti-aircraft guns rang out on Friday in the centre of Zawiyah, a city on the coastal highway 50 km (30 miles) west of Tripoli that the rebels entered this week, in a clash that killed at least two. As they pushed to consolidate control of the city and its strategic oil refinery, rebels in Zawiyah’s central square exchanged heavy fire with Gaddafi forces holed up inside a nearby hospital before driving them out, Reuters witnesses said.

East of the capital, opposition forces fought bloody street battles in the city of Zlitan but suffered heavy casualties, a Reuters reporter there said. A rebel spokesman said 32 rebel fighters were killed, with 150 wounded. Rebel advances have cut off Tripoli from its main supply routes, putting Gaddafi’s four-decade rule under heavy pressure.

"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."

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