Tuesday, August 23, 2011

2:52pm FFs have surrounded Gadhafi's compound and managed to enter one of the gates




CNN's  Residents fleeing  "like we have not seen before 

[Updated 9:09 a.m. ET, 3:09 p.m. in Libya] CNN's Sara Sidner reports that residents are fleeing Tripoli in numbers she has not seen before.
"It is very very dangerous in the capital right now," Sidner said.
Renewed fighting and fresh battles continued around and near the Gadhafi compound in Tripoli.
"There are  no signs this is going to end any time soon," Sidner said as heavy fire and explosions could be heard in the background.
Pictures of the skyline of Tripoli showed the compound with smoke billowing around it.
[Updated 8:52 a.m. ET, 2:52 p.m. in Libya] Rebel fighters have surrounded Moammar Gadhafi's compound and managed to enter one of the gates, a rebel official told CNN. Mahmoud Shammam, minister of information for the National Transitional Council, said NATO has "hit some targets" in the compound as well.
He said he estimates conservatively that rebels control 85% of Tripoli. He acknowledged that rebels had reported that Gadhafi's son, Saif al-Islam Gadhafi, was arrested, although Saif later turned out not to be in rebel custody. "We don't know if he was arrested and then escaped," Shammam said, adding, "We have to clarify."
The National Transitional Council has established a small office on the outskirts of Tripoli, according to rebel sources. The location of the opposition office is not being disclosed but is in place to help facilitate a transition once Moammar Gadhafi is ousted.
[Updated 8:50 a.m. ET, 2:50 p.m. in Libya] Rebel fighters have surrounded Moammar Gadhafi's compound and managed to enter one of the gates, a rebel official told CNN Tuesday.  Mahmoud Shammam, minister of information for the National Transitional Council, said NATO has "hit some targets" in the compound as well.
He said he estimates conservatively that rebels control 85% of Tripoli.  He acknowledged that rebels had reported that Gadhafi's son, Saif al-Islam Gadhafi, was arrested, although Saif later