Gadhafi son resurfaces, free and vowing to fight

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Gadhafi son resurfaces, free and vowing to fight

By BEN HUBBARD - Associated Press,KARIN LAUB - Associated Press | AP – 2 mins 50

secs ago.

TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) — The son and heir apparent of Libyan leader Moammar

Gadhafi, Seif al-Islam, resurfaced free and defiant early Tuesday a day after

rebels claimed to have captured him, boasting in a bizarre reappearance that his

father's loyalists still control parts of Tripoli and would crush the rebellion.

Seif al-Islam's sudden — even surreal — arrival at a Tripoli hotel where foreign

journalists are staying threw the situation in the capital into confusion. It

underlined the potential for Gadhafi, whose whereabouts remain unknown, to lash

back even as his grip on power seemed to be slipping fast.

Rebels say they control the large majority of Tripoli, but on Monday they were

still fighting pockets of fierce resistance from regime loyalists firing mortars

and anti-aircraft guns. Rebel spokesman Mohammed Abdel-Rahman, who was in

Tripoli, said the " danger is still there " as long as the elder Gadhafi remains

on the run. He warned that pro-Gadhafi brigades are positioned on Tripoli's

outskirts and could " be in the middle of the city in half an hour. "

The rebel leadership seemed stunned that Seif al-Islam was free. The

leadership's spokesman, Sadeq al-Kabir, had no explanation and could only say,

" This could be all lies. "

He could not confirm whether Seif al-Islam escaped rebel custody, but he did say

that another captured Gadhafi son, Mohammed, had escaped the home arrest that

rebels had placed him in a day earlier. On Monday, the rebels had said Seif

al-Islam was captured, but did not give details on where he was held. The

Netherlands-based International Criminal Court — which indicted Seif al-Islam

and his father — had confirmed his capture.

Seif al-Islam, with a full beard and wearing an olive-green T-shirt and

camouflage trousers, turned up early Tuesday morning at the Rixos hotel, where

about 30 foreign journalists are staying in Tripoli under the close watch of

regime minders.

Riding in a white limousine amid a convoy of armored SUVs, he took reporters on

a drive through parts of the city still under the regime's control, saying, " We

are going to hit the hottest spots in Tripoli. " Associated Press reporters were

among the journalists who saw him and went on the tour.

The tour covered mainly the area that was known to still be under the regime's

control — the district around the Rixos hotel and nearby Bab al-Aziziya,

Gadhafi's residential compound and military barracks. The tour went through

streets full of armed Gadhafi backers, controlled by roadblocks, and into the

Gadhafi stronghold neighborhood Bu Slim.

At Bab al-Aziziya, at least a hundred men were waiting in lines for guns being

distributed to volunteers to defend the regime. Seif al-Islam shook hands with

supporters, beaming and flashing the " V for victory " sign.

" We are here. This is our country. This is our people, and we live here, and we

die here, " he told AP Television News. " And we are going to win, because the

people are with us. That's why were are going to win. Look at them — look at

them, in the streets, everywhere! "

When asked about the ICC's claim that he was arrested by rebels, he told

reporters: " The ICC can go to hell, " and added " We are going to break the

backbone of the rebels. "

In Benghazi, the de facto rebel capital hundreds of miles east of Tripoli, the

head of the rebel National Transitional Council said the rebels have no idea

where Gadhafi is or whether he is even in Tripoli.,

" The real moment of victory is when Gadhafi is captured, " Mustafa Abdel-Jalil

said. An Obama administration official said the U.S. had no indication that

Gadhafi had left Libya.

President Barack Obama said the situation in Libya reached a tipping point in

recent days after a five month NATO-led bombing campaign. However, he

acknowledged that the situation remained fluid and that elements of the regime

remained a threat.

The Obama administration official said the U.S. believes 90 percent of the

capital is under rebel control, while regime loyalists still control Sirte and

the southern city of Sebha. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity

because the official was not authorized to speak publicly.

Gadhafi's forces remained active, firing off a short-range Scud missile Monday

near Sirte, Gadhafi's hometown and one of the few remaining cities still under

his control, said U.S. military officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity

to discuss military operations. It was unclear where the missile landed or if

anyone was hurt.

It was only the second Scud missile fired during this year's conflict. On Aug.

15, Libyan government forces launched one near Sirte that landed in the desert

outside Brega, injuring no one.

NATO vowed to keep up its air campaign until all pro-Gadhafi forces surrender or

return to their barracks. The alliance's warplanes have hit at least 40 targets

in and around Tripoli in the past two days — the highest number on a single

geographic location since the bombing started in March, NATO said.

A day after the rebels rode into the city of 2 million, the situation remained

volatile. Even though rebels claimed they were in control of most of Tripoli,

they still appeared to be on the defensive, ducking for cover during frequent

clashes with regime fighters. Stores were shuttered and large areas were

lifeless, including the old gold market, in the past a draw for tourists.

Throughout the day, the rebels sent reinforcements to the city from the north,

south and southeast, and a rebel field commander said more than 4,000 fighters

were part of the final push to bring down the regime. Rebels manned checkpoints

on the western approaches to the city Monday, handing out candy to motorists and

inquiring about their destinations.

Intense gun battles erupted throughout the day. At Bab al-Aziziya compound,

government tanks emerged from the complex and opened fire at rebels trying to

get in, according to the rebel spokesman Abdel-Rahman and a neighbor.

Around midday Monday, rebel fighters took over a women's police college near the

Mediterranean and declared that they would set up their new headquarters there.

" We are going to protect the city of Tripoli from all attacks and threats, "

fighter Munir al-Ayan said after kneeling and kissing the ground in the

compound.

" I was bowing down to the Almighty God who helped us get rid of this brutal

dictator, " he later explained.

But the rebels' optimistic mood of the morning quickly changed. By

mid-afternoon, the college came under heavy fire. Snipers from nearby high-rises

aimed at motorists speeding by. An anti-aircraft gun pounded the compound,

creating a deafening noise. A handful of rebel fighters inside seemed jumpy and

unsure what to do.

Gadhafi loyalists also launched attacks in two other areas of Tripoli, said

Ashraf Hussein, a rebel fighter who sat pressed against an inner wall of the

compound for safety.

Drivers trying to evade sniper fire ducked into side streets, or stopped at

rebel checkpoints to find out whether the next stretch was safe. Booms of mortar

rounds and small rockets reverberated across the city, mixed with battle cries

of " God is great. "

Later Monday, another battle erupted around a school where rebels and

journalists had set up camp. Rebels fired small rockets, and Gadhafi troops

responded with mortar shells.

Still, revelers flocked to Green Square, the symbolic heart of the fading

Gadhafi regime. They flashed the " V'' for victory sign and motorists circled the

plaza, honking horns and waving rebel flags.

" We came out today to feel a bit of freedom, " Ashraf Halati, a 30-year-old

Tripoli resident, said as he and four of his friends watched several hundred

people celebrating at Green Square. " We still don't believe that this is

happening. "

Late Sunday night, rebels took over Green Square, which they have been calling

Martyrs Square, restoring the name it had before Gadhafi's regime took power

more than four decades ago. Google's map of Tripoli has already adopted the new

name. The opposition also took up the pre-Gadhafi flag of Libya as their own at

the start of their uprising six months ago.

The Rixos hotel where foreign journalists are staying also remained under the

control of Gadhafi forces, with two trucks loaded with anti-aircraft machine

guns and pro-regime fighters and snipers posted behind trees.

About 30 journalists remained in the hotel where armed pro-Gadhafi youths kept a

close eye on them and did not allow to them to exit the building. Journalists

began to worry that food, water and fuel that powers the hotel's generator were

running low.

Some of the journalists attempted to walk out of the hotel but were met with

hostility by the armed guards, who said they were put there to " protect " them.

Journalists said they felt like they were being held hostage.

Outside of Tripoli, almost all of eastern and western Libya is now under rebel

control. The east of the country from the Egyptian border to Benghazi fell into

rebel hands at the beginning of the uprising. In the weeks leading up to

Sunday's lightning advance on Tripoli, the rebels consolidated control of the

western Nafusa mountain range near the border with Tunisia. It was from there

they staged the run on the capital. Most of the rest of the country was quickly

falling into their hands.

The city of Sirte, Gadhafi's hometown to the east of Tripoli, was the most

important loyalist bastion to remain fully under his control.

On Monday, the city was without power and full of heavily guarded Gadhafi

checkpoints, said Hassan al-Daroui, an official with the rebel council in

Benghazi who was in touch with people there by satellite phone. Many people

there were not even aware that rebels had pushed into the capital, 250 miles

(400 kilometers) to the northwest, he said.

On Saturday rebels said they gained control of the oil refineries and airport at

the oil terminal of Brega, on the road heading out of Benghazi west toward

Tripoli.

The rebels' startling breakthrough on Sunday, after a long deadlock in Libya's

6-month-old civil war, was the culmination of a closely coordinated plan by

rebels, NATO and anti-Gadhafi residents inside Tripoli, rebel leaders said.

Rebel fighters from the west swept over 20 miles (30 kilometers) in a matter of

hours, taking town after town and overwhelming a major military base as

residents poured out to cheer them. At the same time, Tripoli residents secretly

armed by rebels rose up.

Libyan state television was off the air Monday amid reports it had been seized

by rebels.

___

Associated Press writers Stringer in London and Slobodan Lekic in Brussels

contributed to this report.