Article:

ZAWIYAH, Libya — For the first time in months, witnesses in Tripoli reported heavy fighting across the capital late Saturday night, even as rebel forces claimed to have encircled the city by taking major towns to its east, west and south. 
  
 Rebel leaders in Tunis and eastern Libya hailed the beginning of a new uprising in the capital against Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi’s rule. And after months of rebel offenses that crumbled or stalled despite heavy support from a NATO airstrike campaign, it was the first time since the uprising began in February that the rebels threatened Colonel Qaddafi’s ultimate stronghold. 
  
 “We are coordinating the attacks inside, and our forces from outside are ready to enter Tripoli,” said Anwar Fekini, a rebel leader from the mountainous region in western Libya, speaking by telephone from Tunis. “If you can call any mobile number in Tripoli, you will hear in the background the beautiful sound of the bullets of freedom.” 
  
 Phone calls to several Tripoli residents from different neighborhoods confirmed widespread gunfire and explosions. And there were reports of frequent NATO jet overflights and airstrikes — a common accompaniment to the drumbeat of the rebel advance in the past week. 
  
 But in an audio message broadcast on state television, his second in a week, Colonel Qaddafi rejected claims of rebel gains, saying his forces had beaten back the Tripoli uprising within hours and announcing military successes in the same cities rebels had claimed to seize on Saturday. He gave the date and time several times to confirm that he was speaking as events were unfolding. 
  
 “The rebels are fleeing like rats, to the mountains,” Colonel Qaddafi said. 
  
 But even as he described a “collapse” among rebel fighters and NATO forces, he railed at world leaders who were supporting the uprising, accusing them of giving rebels “weapons to destroy our air-conditioners!” 
  
 He gave no indication of where he might be speaking from, a topic of increasing speculation in recent days as rumors have swirled of his preparing to flee, or perhaps having already left Libya. 
  
 If Colonel Qaddafi’s location remained unknown, it became increasingly clear Saturday that even his most senior aides were making exits of their own. 
  
 The Tunisian state news agency reported Saturday that Libya’s oil minister, Omran Abukraa, had defected to Tunisia, after leaving Tripoli on what was ostensibly a business trip abroad. If confirmed, his defection would be the third of a senior government official in the past week. 
  
 Abdel Salam Jalloud, a former Qaddafi deputy, was reported to have defected Friday. A senior security official, Nassr al-Mabrouk Abdullah, flew to Cairo with his family on Monday. 
  
 Mustafa Abdel-Jalil, the chairman of the rebel government, the National Transitional Council, said that he hoped Colonel Qaddafi and the rest of his inner circle would follow. “That would be a good thing that will end the bloodshed and help us avoid material costs,” he said. “But I do not expect that he will do that.” 
  
 After reports of the Tripoli fighting began, some residents said that a group of rebel fighters had infiltrated the city from the east and were spearheading the uprising, surprising the pro-Qaddafi forces who had fortified for an attack from the western approach guarded by Zawiyah. Residents added that in recent weeks rebels had also smuggled weapons into the city by boat to the beaches east of Tripoli to prepare. Their claims could not be independently confirmed. 
  
 Meanwhile, rebel forces closing in on the capital made important gains on Saturday. By afternoon, the rebels had driven Colonel Qaddafi’s forces out of Zawiyah, the strategic oil refinery town 30 miles west of Tripoli. After a week of heavy fighting there, residents began to celebrate in the main square. 
  
 The Arab news network Al Jazeera reported that Zlitan, a crucial Qaddafi barracks town east of Tripoli, also had fallen to the rebels. They captured Gharyan, the gateway to the south, last week. 
  
 Farther east, the rebels claimed to have seized the residential areas of the oil port of Brega, a prize that has changed hands many times since the uprising began. 
  
 A senior American official said Colonel Qaddafi’s days “are numbered.” ||||| Libyan rebels launched an assault early Sunday on the capital of Tripoli amid unconfirmed reports that leader Moammar Gadhafi had fled, NBC News reported. 
  
 "Zero hour has begun," a rebel commander told NBC News. 
  
 However, a government spokesman said Gadhafi remained in control and the leader in a live interview on state television called the rebels "rats" who need to be destroyed. 
  
 Rebels were fighting in at least four areas of Tripoli, NBC News said. 
  
 Four loud explosions were heard at around 4 a.m. Sunday local time in the heart of the city as NATO warplanes flew overhead, Sky News reported. The targets have not yet been identified. 
  
 Earlier Sunday protesters demanding the departure of Gadhafi took to the capital streets, Reuters said. Heavy mortar fire and sustained gunfire grew intense, witnesses said. 
  
 White House and U.S. intelligence officials were monitoring rumors that Gadhafi had left with his two sons, Hannibal and Mutassim, ending his 41-year rule, NBC News reported. 
  
 Late last week, intelligence officials told NBC News that Gadhafi might seek exile in Tunisia. 
  
 White House officials said President Barack Obama, vacationing at Martha's Vineyard, Mass., "had been briefed on Libya and is getting regular updates as needed." 
  
 A second senior official said the administration was in close contact with the Libyan opposition and U.S. allies and partners, and believes that Gadhafi's days in power are numbered. Both aides spoke on condition of anonymity. 
  
 In Libya, rebels said they launched the Tripoli assault in coordination with NATO and with the uprising of rebels inside the capital. 
  
 "This was a pre-set plan," said Abdel Hafiz Ghoga, vice-chairman of the National Transition Council, based in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi. "They've been preparing for a while. There's coordination with the rebels approaching from the east, west and south.'' 
  
 Ghoga said NATO warplanes were launching raids to distract Gadhafi's forces. 
  
 "The next hours are crucial. Many of their (pro-Gadhafi) brigades and their commanders have fled.'' 
  
 His claims could not be independently confirmed immediately. 
  
 Sustained gunfire and thuds were heard in the distance and residents of Tajoura, on Tripoli's eastern outskirts, where reported clashes were under way. 
  
 An eyewitness told Al Arabiya news agency that the suburb was in rebel hands and people were out dancing in the streets. 
  
 Free Libya Now television reported that rebel forces set up command and control and civil control structures. 
  
 It also claimed rebels were in control of the airport, but the government denied the report. 
  
 An unknown number of rebels were killed in clashes in the Tripoli suburb of Qadah and fighting was ongoing at Mitiga airbase, a rebel activist told Reuters. 
  
 In the eastern coastal city of Benghazi, residents took to the streets to celebrate the advance on Tripoli, Al Jazeera news agency reported. 
  
 However, Gadhafi on a state television audio broadcast, congratulated Libyans on the elimination of "the rats." 
  
 He said French President Nicolas Sarkozy "wants the Libyan oil." Rebels don't represent Libya and are bent on "the destruction of the Libyan people," he said, also mentioning the time so he could prove his statements were not pre-recorded. 
  
 He signed off saying, "Long live. Go forward, go forward, go forward, go forward." 
  
 Gunfire was heard in Tripoli after Gadhafi finished his talk, witnesses said. ||||| TRIPOLI Explosions and gunfire rocked Tripoli overnight, after days of battlefield defeats left Muammar Gaddafi's government and troops penned ever more tightly in the besieged capital. 
  
 The fighting inside the city triggered celebrations among some rebels and speculation Gaddafi's 41-year rule was sliding toward collapse. But Gaddafi's officials insisted in the early hours of Sunday the assault had been crushed, a few hours after it began. 
  
 Government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said small groups of armed rebels had infiltrated the capital but had been dealt with. 
  
 "I assure Libyans that Gaddafi is your leader ... Tripoli is surrounded by thousands to defend it," he said. 
  
 Fighting was still raging around Mitiga airbase in Tripoli's Tajourah district after midnight, an opposition activist told a Reuters journalist outside Libya. The gunbattles had left a number of rebels dead in the suburb of Qadah and elsewhere, he said. 
  
 Earlier on Saturday evening, residents told Reuters of gunfire and street protests in several parts of Tripoli. 
  
 "We can hear shooting in different places," said one. "Most of the regions of the city have gone out, mostly young people ... it's the uprising... They went out after breaking the (Ramadan) fast." 
  
 "They are shouting religious slogans: God is greatest!" 
  
 Residents said in the early hours of Sunday that shooting appeared to be subsiding, about four hours after it began. 
  
 This week's rebel advances on Tripoli have transformed the war by cutting the capital off from its main road link to the outside world and putting unprecedented pressure on Gaddafi. 
  
 DEFECTIONS 
  
 Washington says his days are numbered, and reports have emerged of more defections from his ranks. President Barack Obama, on vacation in Martha's Vineyard, was receiving regular updates on Libya, a senior White House official said. 
  
 The six-month-old war came close to the Tunisian frontier after rebels suddenly seized the coastal city of Zawiyah just 50 km (30 miles) west of Tripoli, surrounding the heavily fortified capital and severing its vital supply routes. 
  
 In Tunisia, security sources said their forces had intercepted Libyan men in vehicles with weapons and fought them through the night in the desert. They reported several casualties, but did not say whether the fighters were Libyan rebels or pro-Gaddafi soldiers cut off from Tripoli. 
  
 Residents of the southern Tunisian desert town of Douz told Reuters by telephone that helicopters were swooping overhead and troops had been summoned from nearby towns to subdue the infiltrators, who rode in vehicles without number plates. 
  
 The imposition of a siege around Tripoli has trapped its residents and cut it off from fuel and food supplies. The International Organization for Migration said on Friday it would organize a rescue operation to evacuate thousands of foreign workers, probably by sea. 
  
 Intense fighting continued in Zawiyah, home to an important oil refinery, on Saturday and rebels occupying the center of the city said pro-Gaddafi forces showed no sign of retreat. 
  
 "Gaddafi will try to take back Zawiyah at any price. He will keep shelling the hospital," said a rebel fighter as he prepared for midday prayers in the mosque of Bir Hawisa, a nearby village where many civilians are sheltering. 
  
 "We will not let that happen. We will fight." 
  
 East of Tripoli, fighting has been bloodier and rebel advances far slower. On Friday, opposition forces fought street battles in the city of Zlitan but suffered heavy casualties, a Reuters reporter said. A rebel spokesman said 32 rebel fighters were killed and 150 wounded. 
  
 NATO BOMBINGS 
  
 NATO warplanes have hammered Gaddafi military targets since March under a U.N. mandate to protect civilians. Gaddafi's government has said the bombs have killed scores of innocent people, including 27 during a raid on Tripoli this week. 
  
 On Saturday, Libyan Prime Minister Al Baghdadi Ali Al-Mahmoudi spoke to U.N. General Secretary Ban Ki-moon by telephone requesting an investigation into alleged abuses by NATO, Libyan state news agency JANA reported. 
  
 JANA said Ban had promised to study the proposal. 
  
 In another potential blow to Gaddafi, a Tunisian source said Libya's top oil official, Omran Abukraa, had arrived in Tunisia after deciding not to return to Tripoli from a trip to Italy. 
  
 If confirmed, it would be the third apparent defection of a senior Gaddafi associate this week. A senior security official arrived in Rome on Monday, and rebels said on Friday that Gaddafi's estranged former deputy Abdel Salam Jalloud had joined their side in the western mountains. 
  
 The siege of Tripoli and the prospect of a battle for the capital have added urgency to the question of Gaddafi's fate. The leader has repeatedly vowed never to leave the country and rebels say they will not stop fighting until he is gone. 
  
 A senior U.S. official said on Saturday that the opposition must prepare to take over power soon. The United States is among more than 30 nations that have recognised the rebels' National Transitional Council (NTC) as Libya's legitimate authority. 
  
 "It is clear that the situation is moving against Gaddafi," U.S. assistant Secretary of State Jeffrey Feltman told a news conference after meeting Libyan rebel leaders at their headquarters in Libya's eastern city of Benghazi. 
  
 "The opposition continues to make substantial gains on the ground while his forces grow weaker." 
  
 (Additional reporting by Missy Ryan in Tripoli and Robert Birsel in Benghazi, Libya; Souhail Karam in Rabat, Morocco; Writing by Richard Valdmanis and Peter Graff; Editing by Andrew Roche) |||||
What is a summary?
– It looks like Libyan rebels are closing in for the kill: Reuters reports heavy gunfire and explosions in Tripoli. Rebels have made swift progress this week knocking off strategic cities around the capital, and now it, too, looks in danger of falling. Residents tell the news agency that people are in the streets in some areas shouting anti-Gadhafi slogans. A government spokesman, however, took to state television to downplay the unrest: "All of Tripoli is safe and stable." Even if that's true, it probably won't be for long, a US assistant secretary of state tells the New York Times. “It is clear that the situation is moving against Gadhafi," says Jeffrey D. Feltman. "The opposition continues to make substantial gains on the ground while his forces grow weaker.” Already, rumors are circulating that Gadhafi himself has fled Tripoli, reports NBC News, but there's no confirmation. Earlier reports had him poised to leave for Tunisia.
Artikel: ZAWiyah, Libyen – För första gången på flera månader rapporterade vittnen i Tripoli om hårda strider över huvudstaden sent på lördagskvällen, precis som rebellstyrkorna påstod sig ha omringat staden genom att inta större städer i öster, väster och söder. Rebellledare i Tunis och östra Libyen hyllade början till ett nytt uppror i huvudstaden mot överste Muammar el-Qaddafis styre. Och efter månader av rebellförseelser som rasade eller stannade trots tungt stöd från en Nato-flygstridskampanj var det första gången sedan upproret började i februari som rebellerna hotade överste Qaddafis yttersta fäste. – Vi samordnar attackerna inom oss, och våra styrkor utifrån är redo att gå in i Tripoli, säger Anwar Fekini, en rebellledare från bergstrakten i västra Libyen, som talar per telefon från Tunis. “Om du kan ringa något mobilnummer i Tripoli, kommer du att höra i bakgrunden det vackra ljudet av kulor av frihet.” Telefonsamtal till flera Tripoli invånare från olika stadsdelar bekräftade utbredd skottlossning och explosioner. Och det rapporterades om frekventa överflygningar och flyganfall från Nato — ett gemensamt komplement till rebellernas trumslag under den gångna veckan. Men i ett ljudmeddelande som sändes i statlig TV, hans andra på en vecka, avvisade överste Gaddafi påståenden om rebellvinster, och sade att hans styrkor hade slagit tillbaka Tripoliupproret inom några timmar och tillkännage militära framgångar i samma städer rebeller hade gjort anspråk på att beslagta på lördag. Han gav datum och tid flera gånger för att bekräfta att han talade medan händelserna pågick. — Rebellerna flyr som råttor, till bergen, sade överste Gaddafi. Men även när han beskrev en “kollaps” bland rebeller och Natostyrkor, han raglade på världens ledare som stödde upproret, anklagar dem för att ge rebeller “vapen för att förstöra våra luftkonditionering!” Han gav ingen indikation på varifrån han kan tala, ett ämne för ökande spekulation under de senaste dagarna som rykten har virvlat om hans förberedelser för att fly, eller kanske redan har lämnat Libyen. Om överste Gaddafis läge förblev okänt, blev det allt tydligare lördag att även hans mest högt uppsatta medhjälpare gjorde egna utbrytningar. Den tunisiska statliga nyhetsbyrån rapporterade i lördags att Libyens oljeminister Omran Abukraa hade hoppat av till Tunisien, efter att ha lämnat Tripoli på vad som var skenbart en affärsresa utomlands. Om det bekräftas, skulle hans avhopp vara den tredje av en högre regeringstjänsteman under den senaste veckan. Abdel Salam Jalloud, en tidigare Gaddafi-suppleant, uppgavs ha hoppat av fredagen. En hög säkerhetstjänsteman, Nassr al-Mabrouk Abdullah, flög till Kairo med sin familj i måndags. Mustafa Abdel-Jalil, rebellregeringens ordförande, Nationella övergångsrådet, sade att han hoppades att överste Gaddafi och resten av hans inre krets skulle följa efter. — Det skulle vara en god sak som kommer att göra slut på blodsutgjutelsen och hjälpa oss att undvika materiella kostnader, sade han. “Men jag förväntar mig inte att han kommer att göra det.” Efter rapporter om Tripoli strider började, sade några invånare att en grupp rebeller hade infiltrerat staden från öster och var i spetsen för upproret, överraskande de pro-Qaddafi styrkor som hade befäst för ett anfall från den västliga strategi som vaktas av Zawiyah. Invånarna tillade att rebeller under de senaste veckorna också hade smugglat in vapen till staden med båt till stränderna öster om Tripoli för att förbereda sig. Deras påståenden kunde inte bekräftas på egen hand. Under tiden gjorde rebellstyrkor som närmade sig huvudstaden viktiga vinster på lördagen. På eftermiddagen hade rebellerna drivit ut överste Muammar Gaddafis styrkor från Zawiyah, den strategiska oljeraffinaderistaden tre mil väster om Tripoli. Efter en veckas hårda strider där började invånarna fira på Stora torget. Det arabiska nyhetsnätverket Al Jazeera rapporterade att Zlitan, en avgörande kasernstad i Qaddafi öster om Tripoli, också hade fallit för rebellerna. De fångade Gharyan, porten till söder, förra veckan. Längre österut hävdade rebellerna att de hade bemäktigat sig bostadsområdena i oljehamnen Brega, ett pris som bytt ägare många gånger sedan upproret började. En högt uppsatt amerikansk tjänsteman sade överste Gaddafis dagar “är numrerade.” ”Libyska rebeller inledde en attack tidigt på söndagen på huvudstaden Tripoli mitt i obekräftade rapporter om att ledaren Moammar Gaddafi hade flytt, NBC News rapporterade. "Zerotimmen har börjat", berättade en rebellbefälhavare för NBC News. En regeringstalesman sade dock att Gaddafi behöll kontrollen och ledaren i en direktsänd intervju i statlig TV kallade rebellerna för "råttor" som behöver förstöras. Rebellerna stred i åtminstone fyra områden i Tripoli, säger NBC News. Fyra högljudda explosioner hördes omkring klockan fyra på söndagen lokal tid i hjärtat av staden som Natos stridsflygplan flög över, rapporterade Sky News. Målen har ännu inte fastställts. Tidigare söndag demonstranter kräver avgång Gaddafi tog till huvudstaden gatorna, Reuters sade. Kraftig granateld och ihållande skottlossning blev intensiv, sade vittnena. Vita huset och amerikanska underrättelsetjänstemän övervakade rykten om att Gaddafi hade lämnat med sina två söner, Hannibal och Mutassim, och avslutade sin 41-åriga regel, rapporterade NBC News. I slutet av förra veckan berättade underrättelsetjänsten för NBC News att Gaddafi kanske söker exil i Tunisien. Vita huset tjänstemän sade president Barack Obama, semester på Martha's Vineyard, Mass., "hade informerats om Libyen och får regelbundna uppdateringar efter behov." En andra högre tjänsteman sade att administrationen stod i nära kontakt med den libyska oppositionen och amerikanska allierade och partner, och anser att Gaddafis dagar vid makten är räknade. Båda biståndsgivarna talade under förutsättning av anonymitet. I Libyen sade rebellerna att de inledde Tripoli-överfallet i samordning med Nato och med upproret av rebeller inne i huvudstaden. "Detta var en förinställd plan", sade Abdel Hafiz Ghoga, vice ordförande i det nationella övergångsrådet, baserat i den östra libyska staden Benghazi. "De har förberett sig ett tag. Det finns samordning med rebellerna som närmar sig från öst, väst och syd.'' Ghoga sa att NATO-krigsflygplan avfyrade räder för att distrahera Gaddafis styrkor. "De närmaste timmarna är avgörande. Många av deras (pro-Gadhafi) brigader och deras befälhavare har flytt.'' Hans påståenden kunde inte på ett oberoende sätt bekräftas omedelbart. Kvarstående skottlossning och duns hördes i fjärran och invånare i Tajoura, i Tripolis östra utkant, där rapporterade sammandrabbningar pågick. Ett ögonvittne berättade för nyhetsbyrån Al Arabiya att förorten var i rebellhänder och folk var ute och dansade på gatorna. Free Libya Now TV rapporterade att rebellstyrkor satte upp lednings- och kontrollstrukturer och civila kontrollstrukturer. Man hävdade också att rebeller hade kontroll över flygplatsen, men regeringen förnekade rapporten. Ett okänt antal rebeller dödades i sammandrabbningar i Tripoliförorten Qadah och strider pågick på Mitiga flygbas, berättade en rebellaktivist för Reuters. I den östra kuststaden Benghazi gick invånarna ut på gatorna för att fira framryckningen på Tripoli, rapporterade Al Jazeera nyhetsbyrå. Gaddafi i en statlig TV-sändning gratulerade dock libyerna till elimineringen av "råttorna". Han sa att den franske presidenten Nicolas Sarkozy "vill ha libysk olja". Rebellerna representerar inte Libyen och är fast beslutna att "förstöra det libyska folket", sade han, och nämnde också tiden så att han kunde bevisa att hans uttalanden inte var förinspelade. Han skrev under och sa: "Länge leve livet. Gå framåt, gå framåt, gå framåt, gå framåt." Skottlossning hördes i Tripoli efter att Gaddafi avslutat sitt tal, sade vittnena. TRIPOLI Explosioner och skottlossning gungade Tripoli över en natt, efter dagar av slagfältsnedslag lämnade Muammar Gaddafis regering och trupper som blivit alltmer hårt inspärrade i den belägrade huvudstaden. Striderna inne i staden utlöste firande bland några rebeller och spekulationer Gaddafis 41-åriga styre var på väg mot kollaps. Men Gaddafis tjänstemän insisterade på att överfallet hade krossats några timmar efter att det började. Regeringens talesman Moussa Ibrahim sade att små grupper av beväpnade rebeller hade infiltrerat huvudstaden men hade behandlats. "Jag försäkrar libyerna att Gaddafi är er ledare ... Tripoli är omgiven av tusentals för att försvara det", sade han. Strider rasade fortfarande runt Mitiga flygbas i Tripolis Tajourah-distrikt efter midnatt berättade en oppositionsaktivist för en Reuters-journalist utanför Libyen. Gunbattles hade lämnat ett antal rebeller döda i förorten Qadah och på annat håll, sade han. Tidigare på lördagskvällen berättade invånarna för Reuters om skottlossning och gatuprotester i flera delar av Tripoli. »Vi kunna höra skottlossning på olika ställen», sade en. "De flesta regioner i staden har gått ut, mestadels ungdomar ... det är upproret ... De gick ut efter att ha brutit (Ramadan) fast." "De ropar religiösa slagord: Gud är störst!" Invånarna sade tidigt på söndagen att skottlossningen tycktes avta, omkring fyra timmar efter det att den började. Den här veckans rebellframgångar mot Tripoli har förändrat kriget genom att kapa huvudstaden från dess huvudväg till omvärlden och sätta en aldrig tidigare skådad press på Gaddafi. DEFEKTIONER Washington säger att hans dagar är räknade, och rapporter har framkommit om fler avhopp från hans led. President Barack Obama, på semester i Martha's Vineyard, fick regelbundna uppdateringar om Libyen, sade en högre tjänsteman i Vita huset. Det sex månader gamla kriget kom nära den tunisiska gränsen efter att rebeller plötsligt intog kuststaden Zawiyah bara 50 km väster om Tripoli, och omringade den starkt befästa huvudstaden och kapade dess viktiga försörjningsvägar. I Tunisien sade säkerhetskällor att deras styrkor hade avlyssnat libyska män i fordon med vapen och bekämpat dem genom natten i öknen. De rapporterade flera dödsoffer, men sade inte om de stridande var libyska rebeller eller pro-Gaddafi-soldater avskurna från Tripoli. Invånarna i den södra tunisiska ökenstaden Douz berättade per telefon för Reuters att helikoptrar svepte över huvudet och trupper hade kallats från närliggande städer för att kuva infiltratörerna, som red i fordon utan nummerskyltar. Belägringen kring Tripoli har fångat invånarna och skurit av dem från bränsle och mat. Internationella migrationsorganisationen sade på fredagen att den skulle organisera en räddningsaktion för att evakuera tusentals utländska arbetare, förmodligen sjövägen. Intensiva strider fortsatte i Zawiyah, hem till ett viktigt oljeraffinaderi, på lördag och rebeller ockuperar centrum av staden sade pro-Gaddafi styrkor visade inga tecken på reträtt. "Gaddafi kommer att försöka ta tillbaka Zawiyah till vilket pris som helst. Han kommer att fortsätta bomba sjukhuset," sade en rebell kämpe när han förberedde sig för middagsböner i moskén i Bir Hawisa, en närliggande by där många civila är i skydd. "Vi kommer inte att låta det hända. Vi ska slåss." Öster om Tripoli har striderna varit blodigare och rebellerna avancerar betydligt långsammare. På fredagen utkämpade oppositionsstyrkor gatustrider i staden Zlitan men led stora förluster, sade en reporter från Reuters. En rebellisk talesman sade att 32 rebellstridande dödades och 150 sårades. Natos stridsflygplan har sedan i mars under FN:s uppdrag hamrat Gaddafis militära mål för att skydda civila. Gaddafis regering har sagt att bomberna har dödat massor av oskyldiga människor, inklusive 27 under en räd mot Tripoli denna vecka. På lördagen talade Libyens premiärminister Al Bagdadi Ali Al-Mahmoudi med FN:s generalsekreterare Ban Ki-moon via telefon och begärde en utredning om påstådda övergrepp från Natos sida, rapporterade den libyska statliga nyhetsbyrån JANA. JANA sa att Ban hade lovat att studera förslaget. I ett annat potentiellt slag mot Gaddafi, en tunisisk källa sade Libyens topp oljetjänsteman, Omran Abukraa, hade anlänt till Tunisien efter att ha beslutat att inte återvända till Tripoli från en resa till Italien. Om det bekräftas, skulle det vara det tredje uppenbara avhoppet av en äldre Gaddafi medarbetare denna vecka. En högre säkerhetstjänsteman anlände till Rom i måndags, och rebeller sade på fredagen att Gaddafis f.d. vicesheriff Abdel Salam Jalloud hade anslutit sig till deras sida i de västra bergen. Belägringen av Tripoli och utsikterna till en strid om huvudstaden har gjort frågan om Gaddafis öde ännu mer brådskande. Ledaren har upprepade gånger lovat att aldrig lämna landet och rebeller säger att de inte kommer att sluta slåss förrän han är borta. En högt uppsatt amerikansk ämbetsman sade på lördagen att oppositionen måste förbereda sig för att snart ta över makten. USA är bland mer än 30 nationer som erkänt rebellernas nationella övergångsråd (NTC) som Libyens legitima auktoritet. "Det är tydligt att situationen rör sig mot Gaddafi", berättade USA:s biträdande utrikesminister Jeffrey Feltman en nyhetskonferens efter att ha träffat libyska rebellledare vid deras högkvarter i Libyens östra stad Benghazi. "Motståndsrörelsen fortsätter att göra betydande vinster på marken medan hans krafter blir svagare." (Ytterligare rapporter av Missy Ryan i Tripoli och Robert Birsel i Benghazi, Libyen; Souhail Karam i Rabat, Marocko; Skrift av Richard Valdmanis och Peter Graff; Redigering av Andrew Roche) »» Vad är en sammanfattning?
Article: ZAWiyah, Libya – For the first time in several months, witnesses in Tripoli reported on hard fighting over the capital late Saturday night, just as the rebel forces claimed to have surrounded the city by taking major cities to the east, west, and south. Rebel leaders in Tunis and eastern Libya hailed the beginning of a new uprising in the capital against the rule of Colonel Muammar el-Qaddafi. And after months of rebel offenses raging or stopping despite heavy support from a NATO air combat campaign, it was the first time since the uprising began in February that the rebels threatened Colonel Qaddafi's ultimate stronghold. “We coordinate the attacks within us, and our outside forces are ready to enter Tripoli,” says Anwar Fekini, a rebel leader from the western Libya mountain region, speaking by telephone from Tunis. “If you can call any mobile number in Tripoli, you will hear in the background the beautiful sound of bullets of freedom.” Phone calls to several Tripoli residents from various neighborhoods confirmed widespread shooting and explosions. And there were reports of frequent overflights and air strikes from NATO — a joint complement to the drums of the rebels during the past week. But in an audio message broadcast on state television, his second in a week, Colonel Gaddafi rejected claims of rebel gains, saying that his forces had repressed the Tripoli rebellion within hours and announcing military success in the same cities rebels had claimed to seize on Saturday. He gave the date and time several times to confirm that he was speaking while events were going on. — The rebels flee like rats, to the mountains, said Colonel Gaddafi. But even when he described a “collapse” among rebels and NATO forces, he rant at world leaders who supported the uprising, accusing them of giving rebels “weapon to destroy our air conditioning!” He gave no indication where he can speak, a subject of increasing speculation over the past few days as rumors have swirled about his preparations to escape, or perhaps already have left Libya. If Colonel Gaddafi's location remained unknown, it became increasingly apparent Saturday that even his most high-ranking aide made his own secessions. The Tunisian state news agency reported on Saturday that Libya's oil minister Omran Abukraa had defected to Tunisia, after leaving Tripoli on what was ostensibly a business trip abroad. If confirmed, his defection would be the third of a senior government official in the past week. Abdel Salam Jalloud, a former Gaddafi deputy, was reported to have dropped out Friday. A senior security official, Nassr al-Mabrouk Abdullah, flew to Cairo with his family on Monday. Mustafa Abdel-Jalil, the chairman of the rebel government, the Transitional National Council, said he hoped Colonel Gaddafi and the rest of his inner circle would follow suit. “It would be a good thing that will end the bloodshed and help us avoid material costs,” he said. “But I don’t expect him to.” After reports of Tripoli’s fighting began, some residents said that a group of rebels had infiltrated the city from the east and were at the head of the uprising, surprisingly the pro-Qaddafi forces who had fortified for an attack from the Western strategy guarded by Zawiyah. Residents added that in recent weeks rebels had also smuggled weapons into the city by boat to the beaches east of Tripoli to prepare. Their claims could not be confirmed on their own. Meanwhile, rebel forces approaching the capital made important gains on Saturday. In the afternoon, the rebels had driven out Colonel Gaddafi's forces from Zawiyah, the strategic oil refinery town 30 miles west of Tripoli. After a week of hard fighting there, residents began celebrating in the Great Square. The Arab news network Al Jazeera reported that Zlitan, a crucial barracks town in Qaddafi east of Tripoli, had also fallen for the rebels. They caught Gharyan, the gate to the south, last week. Further east, the rebels claimed that they had seized the residential areas of the oil port of Brega, a price that changed hands many times since the uprising began. A senior U.S. official said Colonel Gaddafi’s days “are numbered.” “Libyan rebels launched an attack early Sunday on the capital Tripoli amid unconfirmed reports that leader Moammar Gaddafi had fled, NBC News reported. "The Zero Hour has begun," a rebel commander told NBC News. However, a government spokesman said Gaddafi retained control and the leader in a live interview on state television called the rebels "rats" that need to be destroyed. The rebels fought in at least four areas of Tripoli, says NBC News. Four loud explosions were heard at about four o'clock on Sunday local time at the heart of the city over which NATO fighter aircraft flew, reported Sky News. The objectives have not yet been set. Earlier Sunday protesters demand resignation Gaddafi took to the capital streets, Reuters said. Strong shell fire and sustained gunfire became intense, the Witnesses said. The White House and U.S. intelligence officials oversaw rumors that Gaddafi had left with his two sons, Hannibal and Mutassim, and ended his 41-year-old rule, NBC News reported. At the end of last week, intelligence told NBC News that Gaddafi may be seeking exile in Tunisia. White House officials said President Barack Obama, vacation at Martha's Vineyard, Mass., "had been informed about Libya and receive regular updates as needed." A second senior official said the administration was in close contact with the Libyan opposition and American allies and partners, and believes Gaddafi's days in power are numbered. Both donors spoke subject to anonymity. In Libya, the rebels said they launched the Tripoli assault in coordination with NATO and with the rebellion of rebels inside the capital. "This was a preset plan," said Abdel Hafiz Ghoga, vice-president of the Transitional National Council, based in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi. "They've been preparing for a while. There is coordination with the rebels approaching from east, west and south.''' Ghoga said NATO warplanes fired raids to distract Gaddafi's forces. "The next few hours are crucial. Many of their (pro-Gadhafi) brigades and their commanders have fled.''' His claims could not be independently confirmed immediately. Remaining shootings and thuds were heard in the distance and residents of Tajoura, on the eastern outskirts of Tripolis, where reported clashes were ongoing. An eyewitness told the Al Arabiya news agency that the suburb was in rebel hands and people were out dancing in the streets. Free Libya Now TV reported that rebel forces set up command and control structures and civilian control structures. It was also claimed that rebels were in control of the airport, but the government denied the report. An unknown number of rebels were killed in clashes in the Tripoli suburb of Qadah and fighting was ongoing at Mitiga air base, a rebel activist told Reuters. In the eastern coastal town of Benghazi, residents went out on the streets to celebrate the advance at Tripoli, Al Jazeera reported news agency. However, Gaddafi in a state television broadcast congratulated the Libyans on the elimination of the "rats". He said French President Nicolas Sarkozy "want Libyan oil". The rebels do not represent Libya and are determined to "destroy the Libyan people," he said, also mentioning the time so that he could prove that his statements were not pre-recorded. He signed and said, "Long live life. Go forward, go forward, go forward, go forward." Gunfire was heard in Tripoli after Gaddafi finished his speech, the Witnesses said. TRIPOLI Explosions and gunfire rocked Tripoli overnight, after days of battlefield impact leaving the government of Muammar Gaddafi and troops who have become increasingly tightly confined in the besieged capital. The battles inside the city sparked celebrations among some rebels and speculations Gaddafi's 41-year rule was on its way to collapse. But Gaddafi officials insisted that the assault had been crushed a few hours after it began. Government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said small groups of armed rebels had infiltrated the capital but had been treated. "I assure the Libyans that Gaddafi is your leader... Tripoli is surrounded by thousands to defend it," he said. Fighting was still raging around Mitiga air base in Tripolis Tajourah district after midnight, an opposition activist told a Reuters journalist outside Libya. Gunbattles had left a number of rebels dead in the suburb of Qadah and elsewhere, he said. Earlier on Saturday night, residents told Reuters about gunfire and street protests in several parts of Tripoli. "We can hear shootings in different places," one said. "Most regions of the city have gone out, mostly young people ... it's the rebellion ... They went out after breaking (Ramadan) stuck." "They cry out religious slogans: God is greatest!" Residents said early Sunday that the shooting seemed to be waning, about four hours after it began. This week's rebel successes against Tripoli have changed the war by cutting the capital from its main road to the outside world and putting an unprecedented pressure on Gaddafi. DEFECTIONS Washington says his days are numbered, and reports have emerged of more defections from his ranks. President Barack Obama, on vacation in Martha's Vineyard, received regular updates about Libya, said a senior White House official. The six-month-old war came near the Tunisian border after rebels suddenly captured the coastal town of Zawiyah just 50 km west of Tripoli, encircling the heavily fortified capital and hijacking its important supply routes. In Tunisia, security sources said their forces had intercepted Libyan men in vehicles with weapons and fought them through the night in the desert. They reported several casualties, but did not say whether the combatants were Libyan rebels or pro-Gaddafi soldiers cut off from Tripoli. The inhabitants of the southern Tunisian desert town of Douz told Reuters by phone that helicopters swept over their heads and troops had been called from nearby cities to subdue the infiltrators, who rode in vehicles without license plates. The siege around Tripoli has captured the residents and cut them off from fuel and food. The International Migration Organization said on Friday that it would organize a rescue operation to evacuate thousands of foreign workers, probably by sea. Intensive fighting continued in Zawiyah, home to an important oil refinery, on Saturday and rebels occupying the center of the city said pro-Gaddafi forces showed no sign of retreat. "Gaddafi will try to bring back Zawiyah at any cost. He will continue to bomb the hospital," said a rebel fighter as he prepared for dinner prayers in the mosque of Bir Hawisa, a nearby village where many civilians are in shelter. "We won't let that happen. We're gonna fight." East of Tripoli, the fighting has been bloodier and the rebels are advancing significantly slower. On Friday, opposition forces fought street fighting in the city of Zlitan but suffered heavy losses, said a reporter from Reuters. A rebel spokesman said 32 rebel fighters were killed and 150 wounded. NATO warplanes have hammered Gaddafi's military targets to protect civilians since March during the United Nations mission. Gaddafi's government has said that the bombs have killed scores of innocent people, including 27 during a raid on Tripoli this week. On Saturday, Libya's Prime Minister Al Baghdadi Ali Al-Mahmoudi spoke to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon by telephone and requested an investigation into alleged abuses by NATO, reported the Libyan state news agency JANA. JANA said Ban had promised to study the proposal. In another potential blow to Gaddafi, a Tunisian source said Libya's top oil official, Omran Abukraa, had arrived in Tunisia after deciding not to return to Tripoli from a trip to Italy. If confirmed, it would be the third apparent defection of an older Gaddafi associate this week. A senior security official arrived in Rome on Monday, and rebels said on Friday that Gaddafi's former deputy Abdel Salam Jalloud had joined their side in the western mountains. The siege of Tripoli and the prospect of a battle over the capital have made the question of Gaddafi's fate even more urgent. The leader has repeatedly promised never to leave the country and rebels say they will not stop fighting until he is gone. A senior U.S. official said on Saturday that the opposition must prepare to soon take over power. The United States is among more than 30 nations that recognized the rebels' National Transitional Council (NTC) as Libya's legitimate authority. "It is clear that the situation is moving towards Gaddafi," U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Jeffrey Feltman told us a news conference after meeting Libyan rebel leaders at their headquarters in Libya's eastern town of Benghazi. "The resistance movement continues to make significant gains on the ground while his powers become weaker." (Further reports by Missy Ryan in Tripoli and Robert Birsel in Benghazi, Libya; Souhail Karam in Rabat, Morocco; Writing by Richard Valdmanis and Peter Graff; Editing by Andrew Roche)  What is a summary?
– Det ser ut som libyska rebeller närmar sig för att döda: Reuters rapporterar kraftig skottlossning och explosioner i Tripoli. Rebellerna har gjort snabba framsteg den här veckan när de slår av strategiska städer runt huvudstaden, och nu ser det också ut att riskera att falla. Invånarna berättar för nyhetsbyrån att människor är ute på gatorna i vissa områden och skriker anti-Gadhafi slogans. En regeringstalesman tog dock med sig till staten TV för att tona ner oroligheterna: "Hela Tripoli är säkert och stabilt." Även om det är sant, så är det nog inte länge till, berättar en amerikansk biträdande utrikesminister för New York Times. – Det är tydligt att situationen rör sig mot Gaddafi, säger Jeffrey D. Feltman. "Motståndet fortsätter att göra betydande vinster på marken medan hans styrkor blir svagare." Redan nu cirkulerar rykten om att Gaddafi själv har flytt från Tripoli, rapporterar NBC News, men det finns ingen bekräftelse. Tidigare rapporter gjorde att han kunde resa till Tunisien.
“It looks like Libyan rebels are approaching to kill: Reuters reports heavy shootings and explosions in Tripoli. The rebels have made rapid progress this week when they turn off strategic cities around the capital, and now it also seems to be at risk of falling. Residents tell the news agency that people are out on the streets in some areas shouting anti-Gadhafi slogans. However, a government spokesman brought to state television to tone down the unrest: "The whole Tripoli is safe and stable." Although true, it may not be long, a U.S. Assistant Secretary of State tells the New York Times. “It is clear that the situation is moving towards Gaddafi,” says Jeffrey D. Feltman. "Resistance continues to make significant gains on the ground while his forces are getting weaker." Already, rumors are circulating that Gaddafi himself has fled from Tripoli, reports NBC News, but there is no confirmation. Earlier reports allowed him to travel to Tunisia.