Libya LiveBlog: The Last Push Against Former Leader Qaddafi

See also Sunday's Libya, Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Endgame in Tripoli?
Libya Video Special: Great Moments in Bad Journalism --- Russia Today on Regime Victory in Tripoli
Libya Video Special: The Country Where State TV's Newsreaders Wave Guns
Monday's Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Meanwhile, In Another Uprising....

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1950 GMT: State TV newsreader Hala al Misrati, who achieved a bit of extra notoriety on Saturday night when she brandished a gun on-air and said she would defend the station from anyone who dared attack it (see EA special entry), has been detained. Insurgents told a CNN reporter who tried to interview her, that "she is unharmed".

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1935 GMT: Al Jazeera is reporting that a NATO warplane intercepted a Scud missile fired from Sirte, presumably by regime forces, in Libya.

1851 GMT: The BBC's Matthew Price, reporting from the embattled Rixos hotel in Tripoli:

"First there were the children and the wives of Col Muammar Gaddafi's officials packing and leaving the five-star Rixos hotel," he wrote. "Now the relatives of senior officials were going, heading presumably somewhere safer. Then I noticed the translators we have been working with for months now had also left. So too the state television staff who have worked out of here since their headquarters were bombed by Nato."

1844 GMT: Colonel Qaddafi ordered an office to bomb an Arab embassy in Tunis, and the man has now turned himself in to Tunisian authorities:

The officer, Colonel Abdelrazak Rajhi, crossed into Tunisia on July 30 to carry out the attack on the embassy of an Arab country using 16kg of explosives, which have been seized, a Tunisian defence ministry official told a press conference.

"The planned attack was commissioned by the military top brass, therefore by Muammar Gaddafi. He aimed to derail the Tunisian revolution," said Rajhi, who took part in the conference.

Tunisia's Colonel Major Mokhtar Ben Nasser told journalists Rajhi handed himself in to the Tunisian army on Friday.

1720 GMT: CNN's Matthew Chance sends a message from the Rixos Hotel in Tripoli, "All electricity down, running low on food and water. Sitting at #Rixos in the dark as bullets fly outside."

1718 GMT: According to Sultan Al Qassemi, Al Jazeera Arabic is reporting that Mohammad Qaddafi has fled house arrest with the assistance of several armed battalion members.

1712 GMT: A South African broadcaster has said that Angola has offered Colonel Qaddafi an offer of asylum.

1656 GMT: The reporters inside the Rixos hotel are reporting that the hotel is being hit by stray gunfire as a gun battle is raging outside. Armed pro-Qaddafi gunment are not allowing the reporters to leave the building.

1648 GMT: The Libyan Revolutionary council is set to vote on whether or not Saif al Islam will be turned over to the International Criminal Court to be tried outside of Libya. Saif, and his father, have both been accused of crimes by the ICC, and international law dictates that they be turned over for prosecution, but many in Libya want to try the two themselves, and last night there was an uproar among the crowd in Benghazi when it was suggested that Qaddafi's son be turned over to Europe.

1545 GMT: Revelation, spin, or both from Washington? From CNN:

Up until the last minutes before the rebel offensive on Tripoli began, senior Libyan officials close to Muammar Gadhafi were trying to reach out to the United States in a desperate attempt to stop the "inevitable"....

In a telephone interview from Cairo, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman said that, until Saturday night, six officials with whom the United States had previous contact were still trying to reach out to the Obama administration but were taking a "defiant" approach, saying they were ready to negotiate but it would not be about Gadhafi leaving.

"It hinted to us that there's a sense of desperation," Feltman, who leads State Department efforts on Libya and who was in the rebel stronghold of Benghazi over the weekend, said, "that they're trying all channels to reach us, that the balance was tipping on behalf of the rebels or why would these people be so desperate to find us?"

"I think they were looking for a way to find a lifeline, buy time, to prevent what was then becoming inevitable, which was the uprising in Tripoli," he said.

The contacts stopped Saturday night when the rebellion started inside Tripoli. "In hindsight," Feltman says, "I think it's clear it was an attempt to buy time. When they looked at a map and saw Tripoli starting to be surrounded I think they saw what was inevitable."

1510 GMT: Al Jazeera is reporting that Muammar Qaddafi's son Saadi has been captured, following the detentions of his brothers Mohammad and Saif al-Islam.

Al Jazeera also the regime is "under siege" in Sirte, Muammar Qaddafi's birthplace, with electricity has been cut and communications disrupted. Senior Qaddafi officials, including Minister of Information Ali al Kilani, are reportedly there.

And in Brega, oppposition fighters have entered the industrial area after an artillery barrage drove off regime forces.

1420 GMT: A summary of this afternoon's comments by the head of the National Transitional Council, Mustafa Abdel Jalil has answered questions at the end of the NTC press conference....

Jalil said, "We will provide [Muammar Qaddafi] with a fair trial. But I have no idea how he will defend himself against these crimes that he committed against the Libyan people and the world."

Jalil called for the protection, rights, and safety of civilians, as well as for forgiveness:

The revolutionaries are the basis of this revolution. And they led the revolution against this regime by conducting peaceful protests and they bore the burden of the military battles. They also bore the burden of providing security within the cities.

My fear is that some actions which are outside the framework of the orders they get from their leaders. Especially those concerning revenge. I object strongly to any execution outside the framework of the law, regardless of the act done. I hail the leaders of these groups and trust their word but some of their followers worry me.

I respect the law and aim to establish a state of law. Therefore anyone who has fallen victim to any acts must" present evidence so that justice may be done. Judgments will be open to reconciliation and execution as well.

1410 GMT: AFP is reporting that the Egyptian regime has recognised the National Transitional Council as the sole representative of the Libyan people.

1358 GMT: France24 is reporting that Qaddafi's son Khamis is leading forces to the center of Tripoli. More details to come.

Luke Harding, speaks with the Guardian as mortar rounds are fired at pockets of Qaddafi supporters:

1353 GMT: Reuters is reporting that, according to an NTC spokesman, Libyan State TV is now off the air and the headquarters is in opposition hands.

1348 GMT: A Libyan opposition fighter, calling from Tripoli, reports on the current situation, as well as the casualties that he witnessed yesterday:

1342 GMT: The Libyan embassy in Damascus has released a statement that it is supporting the National Transitional Council, not the Qaddafi government.

1315 GMT: Al Jazeera claims that Qaddafi's Prime Minister Al Baghdadi Ali al-Mahmoudi and the head of Libya television union, Abdallah Mansour, are on the Tunisian island of Djerba.

1240 GMT: For us, a local dimension to the story --- in Birmingham in the United Kingdom, where EA is based, a man waves the pre-1969 Libyan flag in celebration:

1155 GMT: Looks like Russia Today --- whose "journalism" we profiled in a separate feature this morning --- will be the propaganda gift that keeps on giving....

Having declared yesterday that the regime advance on Tripoli was a myth of NATO's psychological warfare, Russia Today's correspondents try to explain today how the insurgents suddenly showed up.

Mahdi Nazemroaya explains that snipers outside the Rixos Hotel, where foreign journalists stay, have probably been positioned by French President Nicolas Sarkozy to give an excuse for intervention when a couple of correspondents are shot, while Lizzie Phelan reveals, "What we have heard is that the strategy of the Libyan government and army was to permit the rebels into the city because previously they have been operating in a sneaky manner and it was very difficult to know who they were and where they were hiding, so that they could be dealt with in a direct manner.”

The claims of Nazemroaya and Phelan can be juxtaposed next to Russia Today's raw video of insurgents celebrating in central Tripoli overnight.

1115 GMT: Luke Harding of The Guardian watches the insurgent flag fly over Green Square --- now Martyrs' Square --- in Tripoli: "This morning it has been pretty tense, but here at least it is fairly calm. I haven't been all over the city so it would be premature to say it is all over --- one person said there had been fighting by a sports centre. But it seems to be isolated groups of regime loyalists who are fighting rather than a co-ordinated offensive or counter attack by Gaddafi's forces. Where ever they are they seem to have melted away, at least in the centre."

1045 GMT: Claimed footage of insurgents storming the house of Muammar Qaddafi's daughter Aisha in Tripoli on Sunday:

1030 GMT: A flashback to last night, as Alex Crawford of Sky News accompanied insurgents entering Tripoli from the west: "People are pouring out onto the streets into celebration....I am...wearing this helmet and bullet-proof vest not because I am in any danger whatsoever but because there are so many bullets flying around [in] celebratory volleys of shots."

This morning Crawford reports, "Doctors seriously stretched in Tripoli's only working hospital. Very few staff, piles of rubbish everywhere. Two young children among wounded. Sound of gunfire and shelling continues. Docs appeal for pressure on both sides to stop attacking the hospital. Horrendous conditions here."

1020 GMT: The hot rumour, via Al Arabiya, is that Muammar Qaddafi's son Khamis, the commander of the elite 32nd Brigade, is leading forces towards central Tripoli.

1010 GMT: As reports of fighting in Tripoli, especially around the Qaddafi compound in Bab Azazia, continue, the opposition is making statements about the political future.

Mahmoud Nacua, recently appointed as the National Transition Council's diplomatic envoy to Britain, said the NTC "will soon move from Benghazi to Tripoli to start a new era for Libya," beginning a few days after Libya's capital is secured.

The NTC has also said that the safety of Muammar Qaddafi's eldest son Mohammad, who was captured last night, is guaranteed.

Just before he was taken by insurgent forces, Mohammad Qaddafi spoke to Al Jazeera English amidst the sounds of gunfire outside:

0910 GMT: Earlier today, we posted a separate feature on the black comedy of Russia Today's "journalism" yesterday, peppered with assurances that the regime was in control in Tripoli and that the report of an opposition advance was NATO's psychological warfare.

The Center for Research on Globalization in Canada chips in with another nugget. Having posted a lengthy piece yesterday, "Libya: Swimming Against the Tide of NATO's Media Propaganda", the site explains latest developments in Tripoli: "Rebels are few in numbers. One suspects that highly trained NATO Special Forces are operating covertly within rebel ranks."

0900 GMT: The BBC has posted audio of an attack by Qaddafi forces on an insurgent convoy, including its correspondent Rupert Wingfield-Hayes.

0830 GMT: The BBC's Jon Williams sends this message, "Significant that NTC [insurgent] forces not moving from Zlitan --- roadblock stopping move into Tripoli from east. Not confident what lies beyond."

0810 GMT: Speaking on Al Jazeera English, South Africa's Minister of International Relations has denied rumors that Pretoria has sent planes into Libya to collect regime officials.

Claims have circulated that South Africa was negotiating with the regime over a country of exile for Muammar Qaddafi.

0800 GMT: Speaking an hour ago, Luke Harding of The Guardian cautions, "Tripoli has not fallen" as --- on a "beautiful blue day" --- there are pockets of fighting in the capital.

0645 GMT: Sultan Al Qassemi reports, "Surreal: Qaddafi TV is broadcasting at 8:45am Monday morning....Anchor not making sense. Starts singing."

And then: "Libya State TV anchor says, 'We will now hear from Qaddafi'. No message was played, Then he comes back & says, "The Leader is always brief.'"

0635 GMT: Scenes of celebration early this morning in Tripoli:

Hay Andalus Tripoli Liberation Day يوم تحرير حي الاندلس طرابلس from Miri on Vimeo.

0630 GMT: Memories. We ran this picture, taken at the 2010 Arab African Summit in Sirte, east of the Libyan capital Tripoli, after the fall of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in February, but Al Jazeera English has just reminded us of it. Muammar Qaddafi and Mubarak are joined by former Tunisian President Ben Ali and under-pressure Yemeni President Saleh.

0620 GMT: Al Jazeera is reporting that tanks supporting Muammar Qaddafi have left the former leader's compound in Bab Azaziya, opening fire.

0610 GMT: An image from Reuters of a man planning the pre-1969 flag of Libya in al-Maya, less than 20 miles from Tripoli, after opposition forces took the town yesterday on their way to the capital:

0525 GMT: An opposition fighter, "Nasser", tells Al Jazeera English of the battles that continue in Tripoli, with a numerically superior opposition facing those better-armed forces who still defend the former regime.

Nasser says regime troops still hold 15-20% of the capital.

0510 GMT: Less than 24 hours ago, we dared to write --- albeit with a question mark --- of an "endgame in Tripoli". However, we did not anticipate the exclamation point we would get in response. 

This morning, former Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi, wherever he might be, sees his military forces crumbling, his sons detained, and his opponents celebrating the imminent takeover of the capital Tripoli. There is still intense fighting in sections of the city, but there is no prospect that Qaddafi --- who made increasingly desperate audio statements throughout Sunday --- can reclaim even a figment of power.