Media caption The BBC's John Simpson reports on the 'last crimes' of the Gaddafi regime 
 
 The United Nations has called on all sides in the Libyan conflict to take steps to ensure there are no acts of violence and revenge. 
 
 It comes as reports emerge of abuses and alleged summary killings by both rebels and troops loyal to Col Gaddafi. 
 
 The UN has also agreed to release $1.5bn (£1bn) in Libyan assets - which had been frozen under sanctions - to help with immediate humanitarian needs. 
 
 Fighting has continued in Tripoli, which is now largely in rebel control. 
 
 Thursday saw gunfights erupting in the city's Abu Salim district, one of the few remaining Gaddafi holdouts in the capital. 
 
 At the scene The rebels are building up their forces to attack Sirte. I spoke to one of their officers who said there would be another day at least of getting things into position. There are, they believe, about 1,500 Gaddafi loyalists on the road between Ras Lanouf and Bin Jawad, and they have to clear them out of the way before they can get to Sirte. Another officer told me he thought there was a deliberate delaying tactic, putting those Gaddafi forces on that road in order to better prepare the defences of Sirte. Certainly we saw a lot of tanks being moved up yesterday [Thursday] and digging in for this smaller battle before they get to Sirte itself - they think that will take three or four days. Col Gaddafi was born in the desert, in a tent near what was then the tiny fishing village of Sirte. When he came to power, 42 years ago, he started building it up, almost as a rival capital to Tripoli. The African Union was founded there, which Col Gaddafi has always thought of as his foremost achievement. He poured money into Sirte, with the result that it remains very loyal to him. Watch Paul Wood's report on the road to Sirte 
 
 The rebels have also been attempting to reach Col Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte but have been met with fierce resistance. There were reports that Nato planes carried out air strikes on the city overnight. 
 
 Late on Thursday, the National Transitional Council (NTC) said it had now moved its political base from the rebel stronghold Benghazi to the capital. 
 
 According to a rebel spokesman, half the NTC leadership is now in Tripoli. But the BBC's Jon Leyne, in Benghazi, says NTC chairman Mustafa Abdul-Jalil and other senior officials are waiting for the situation in Tripoli to stabilise before they move. 
 
 The urgent process of restoring essential services and supplies, Libya's future effectively, is largely on hold until Col Gaddafi is killed or captured, our correspondent says. 
 
 Tortured and killed 
 
 UN human rights spokesman Rupert Colville said it was difficult to confirm reports of summary killings and torture, but said such incidents would be investigated by the existing Commission of Inquiry on Libya. 
 
 "We urge all those in positions of authority in Libya, including field commanders, to take active steps to ensure that no crimes, or acts of revenge, are committed," he told Reuters. 
 
 The UN has previously said some military action in Libya could amount to war crimes or crimes against humanity. 
 
 Earlier this week, the NTC's chairman, Mustafa Abdul Jalil, urged rebels not to engage in revenge attacks against pro-Gaddafi fighters, threatening to resign if his warning was not heeded. 
 
 The BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes visited a hospital in the Mitiga district of Tripoli which had received the bodies of 17 rebel fighters. 
 
 Doctors said the group had been prisoners of Gaddafi troops in Tripoli and were tortured and killed as the rebels seized the capital earlier this week. 
 
 Dr Hoez Zaitan, a British medic working at the hospital, said about half the bodies had bullet wounds to the back of the head while others had disfiguring injuries to their limbs and hands. 
 
 He said the bodies had been examined for possible evidence to be used at a war crimes tribunal. 
 
 Meanwhile, the bodies of at least a dozen pro-Gaddafi fighters - two of whom had their hands tied behind their backs - were found on a roundabout in the centre of Tripoli. 
 
 There were reports that one body had an intravenous drip in the arm, and that others were badly burned. 
 
 Amnesty International says it has "powerful testimonies" of abuses by both sides in the coastal town of Zawiya, including allegations of violence by rebels against African migrant workers accused of being mercenaries. 
 
 On Thursday evening, the UN reached an agreement to release $1.5bn in Libyan assets after the motion was modified to remove a reference to the NTC. 
 
 South Africa had stalled the move, raising among its concerns that giving money to the NTC indicated officially acknowledging it as Libya's leaders - something it and the African Union have yet to do. ||||| Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- As fighting continued Friday in much of Libya, regional organizations underscored the need to plan carefully and move quickly to speed the transition from crisis to democracy. 
 
 In New York, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he had talked with heads of the organizations, which included the League of Arab States, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the African Union and the European Union. 
 
 "All agreed that the crisis in Libya has entered a new and decisive phase," he said. "All agreed, as well, on the importance of a smooth transition." 
 
 That transition must be based on inclusiveness, reconciliation and national unity, he said. 
 
 "Fighting goes on in many parts of the country," Ban said. "There is an urgent need to put an end to the conflict and restore order and stability. All agreed that, if the Libyan authorities request, we should be prepared to help develop police capacity, bearing in mind that the country is awash with small arms." 
 
 The effect of the fighting has been profound, he said. "There are widespread shortages of fuel, food and medical supplies. Reports on the ground suggest that the water supply to the capital and surrounding region may be in danger, putting several million people or more at risk." 
 
 Friday's meeting participants agreed that the international community "must come together with an effective, well-coordinated program of action," Ban said. 
 
 Over the longer term, they emphasized early support for elections, transitional justice and policing, and help in social-economic recovery, rule of law and institution-building, Ban added. 
 
 He called Thursday's action by the Security Council in unfreezing $1.5 billion in Libyan assets "a welcome step" but said Friday's participants agreed that more must be done to ensure a stable transition of power. 
 
 Despite the continuing fighting, Moammar Gadhafi's grip on power has slipped, said Principal Deputy Press Secretary Josh Earnest, on Martha's Vineyard with the vacationing President Barack Obama. 
 
 "It is evident that there is momentum on the side of the rebels as they continue to make advances and as they continue in their efforts to set up a new government in Libya," he said. 
 
 Asked about the whereabouts of Libyan leader Gadhafi, he said, "Right now, as I've been saying the past few days, right now there is no evidence to indicate that Gadhafi has left Libya." 
 
 Earnest called on Gadhafi "to relinquish power once and for all," turn himself in and be held accountable. 
 
 The comments came as opposition and NATO forces took aim Friday at the Gadhafi regime in Tripoli and Sirte as rebels worked to consolidate their power across the country. 
 
 British warplanes pounded a "large headquarters bunker" overnight in Gadhafi's hometown of Sirte, the UK Defence Ministry said. Tornado aircraft fired a salvo of precision-guided missiles into the city, which is east of Tripoli on the central coast. 
 
 Outside one Tripoli hospital, the smell of disinfectant was overwhelmed by the smell of rotting human flesh. Inside, dozens of bodies lay abandoned in a room. In other rooms lay more. Some were wearing military boots, some dressed in fatigues, some in civilian clothes. One man was overwhelmed with joy to discover his son among the wounded inside the hospital. But his joy was tempered by the fact that the son's wound -- a bullet to the chest -- could still prove fatal. 
 
 In the heart of the capital, rebels began exploring the vast network of tunnels that run underneath Gadhafi's Bab al-Aziziya compound and much of the rest of the city. The thick-walled hallways -- wide enough for three people to walk abreast -- appeared to have been built to protect their occupants from bombing. But NATO's assault on the leader's compound was visible in one part of the tunnel, from which the sky was visible through a hole dug out by a bomb. Elsewhere in the bunker was a professionally equipped television studio. 
 
 Other previously hidden areas were opened to public view. In Tripoli, a former U.S. airbase converted by Gadhafi into a military airport showed graphically that the longtime leader's military had begun to decay long before rebels picked up their guns against him in February: Long lines of helicopters and dust-laden jets once worth millions of dollars apiece sat rusting on the tarmac. This is also where Gadhafi parked his private jets. A tree sprouted from part of one runway. 
 
 The opposition said its forces made gains late Thursday as it closed in on Sirte, and clashes flared Friday in that region, considered by fighters as a hot war zone. 
 
 On Thursday, Tornado aircraft destroyed one of Gadhafi's few remaining long-range surface-to-air missile systems, near Al Watiyah, close to the Tunisian border, the ministry said. 
 
 The ministry said Tornadoes and Typhoons destroyed a loyalist-held command-and-control site in the Tripoli area, also on Thursday. Britain is a participant in NATO's mission to enforce a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for the protection of Libyan people against Gadhafi regime forces. 
 
 As for the airport, rebels said they controlled the facility but were struggling to secure an area east of it controlled by Gadhafi loyalists. 
 
 The rebels said Gadhafi loyalists were indiscriminately shelling the airport from a civilian village east of the facility in an effort to repel the advance of rebel forces. Rebels said they were cautious in their response to the incoming fire because of concern over civilian casualties. 
 
 An aircraft burned as loyalists resumed shelling the airport with mortars and Grad rockets, a CNN team that witnessed the attack said. 
 
 A 17-year-old rebel said he hates war but feels forced to fight until the war ends. At that point, "I'm going to see my mother. I'm going to see my family," said Louis al-Zinatni. "I'm going to remove this gun from my hands. It's not for me." 
 
 The reports of continuing fighting came amid world concerns over revenge killings by rebels and loyalists. 
 
 Amnesty International has gathered accounts from survivors of abuse in Zawiya by pro-Gadhafi soldiers and rebel forces. 
 
 Amnesty said it also uncovered evidence that pro-Gadhafi forces killed detainees at two military camps in Tripoli on Tuesday and Wednesday. 
 
 Escaped detainees said loyalist forces had used grenades and gunfire on scores of prisoners at one camp, while guards at the other camp fatally shot five detainees. "Loyalist forces in Libya must immediately stop such killings of captives, and both sides must commit to ensuring no harm comes to prisoners in their custody," Amnesty International said. 
 
 The InternationalCriminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Gadhafi alleging crimes against humanity. 
 
 On the political front, the opposition National Transitional Council was moving its political base to Tripoli from its stronghold in Benghazi in eastern Libya. 
 
 Libya's rebel leadership on Friday pleaded with the United States and other countries to unfreeze more money, saying the funds are vital to establish peace and stability in the nation. 
 
 "Our friends throughout the world are talking about the procedures needed to bring back peace and stability," Mahmoud Jibril, a senior National TransitionalCouncil leader, said at an international conference in Turkey. "But we cannot do that unless we can fulfill our duties." 
 
 Though the National Transitional Council has been recognized by 57 nations as the legitimate representative of the Libyan people, the Peace and Security Council of the African Union failed to follow suit at a meeting Friday. 
 
 Nevertheless, the council issued a communique that urged the "formation of an inclusive transitional government." 
 
 It called for the "establishment of a constitutional and legislative framework for the democratic transformation of Libya, as well as for support towards the organization of elections and the national reconciliation process." 
 
 In Washington, a U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state, Aaron Snipe, said he was pleased that 20 countries on the African continent have recognized the National Transitional Council. 
 
 "The international community has come out very much in one voice to support the aims and the purposes of the Libyan people," he said. 
 
 CNN's Nic Robertson, Dan Rivers, Sara Sidner, Arwa Damon, Raja Razek, Jomana Karadsheh, Hada Messia, Barbara Starr, Chelsea J. Carter and Pam Benson contributed to this report. ||||| With reported pockets of fighting remaining in Tripoli on Wednesday, the whereabouts of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi still were not known. 
 
 Rebels seized Gadhafi’s vast compound on Tuesday. Celebratory gunfire was virtually nonstop as rebels streamed in and out of the compound, many leaving with weapons and ammunition seized from the complex. 
 
 A senior NATO official warned that the war "is not over yet, although it's close." 
 
 Here are the latest developments: 
 
 [Updated 11:02 p.m. ET, 5:02 a.m. Thursday in Libya] The bodies of 17 rebels killed Tuesday by Gadhafi forces near the longtime leader's compound were taken Wednesday to a hospital in eastern Tripoli, a doctor there told CNN. 
 
 Dr. Mohammed Rashed said the victims had been executed. Rashed, a Libyan who has worked as a consultant in Britain for 25 years, said he was volunteering with a medical group at a Tripoli hospital when a patient showed up Wednesday seeking treatment for a leg wound. 
 
 The patient told Rashed that he was one of 25 people who had been abducted from their homes by Gadhafi forces, taken to a military barracks near Gadhafi's compound and accused of complicity with the rebels. 
 
 As the Gadhafi forces began to execute them, rebel forces began storming Bab al-Azizia, he said. The resulting confusion gave some of the captives the chance to escape, he said. 
 
 [Updated 9:02 p.m. ET, 3:02 a.m. Thursday in Libya] The humanitarian group Medecins Sans Frontieres, also called Doctors Without Borders, says medical facilities in the capital are overwhelmed with patients. 
 
 "Almost all of the hospitals around the city are receiving wounded, but some of the hospitals have not been accessible due to the fighting, which means that other hospitals have an added burden," said Jonathan Whittall, MSF head of mission in Tripoli. 
 
 He described scenes of chaos inside institutions short of doctors and nurses, many of whom have been afraid to travel unsafe streets to get to work. But, he added, "there is a huge number of people who are responding as volunteers and who are going to the hospitals to try and support and assist where they can." 
 
 Ambulance workers are hamstrung by the fuel shortage in the capital. With electricity only sporadic, hospitals have been running on generators, but they too require gas. Still, he said, "health facilities are stretched, but by no means are they completely collapsed or not functioning at all." 
 
 [Updated 7:27 p.m. ET, 1:27 a.m. Thursday in Libya] The United States will support an effort by several members of the U.N. Security Council to override the United Nations' sanctions committee and allow countries to free up frozen Libyan assets for the Libyan opposition's National Transitional Council. 
 
 The Obama administration has tried for days to get approval from the U.N. sanctions committee to unfreeze $1 billion to $1.5 billion worth of Libyan assets, but South Africa has been blocking that move. Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi funded South Africa's African National Congress - now the ruling party - when it was a liberation movement fighting the white apartheid regime. 
 
 A Security Council meeting Wednesday concluded without a vote on a draft resolution to free $1.5 billion of assets. If South Africa doesn't lift its objections, Washington will call for a vote Thursday afternoon, U.S. officials said. South Africa - which the officials say does not object to releasing some, but not all, of the money for urgent humanitarian needs - does not have veto power and would not be able to block the resolution. 
 
 [Updated 5:19 p.m. ET, 11:19 p.m. in Libya] Gadhafi forces' shelling of areas in and around Tripoli International Airport got more intense after dark, and a plane is burning on the tarmac, reports CNN's Arwa Damon, who is at the airport. 
 
 Rebels control the airport but are struggling to control an area to the east. Regime elements had entrenched themselves in nearby villages, rebel commanders said. While the rebel fighters were shooting back, they were calibrating their fire in order not to strike villagers, the commanders said. 
 
 Rebels said the intensity of the fighting around the airport could indicate Gadhafi is nearby. 
 
 [Updated 4:52 p.m. ET, 10:52 p.m. in Libya] More information about four Italian journalists who reportedly were abducted in Libya on Wednesday morning: They were kidnapped on a road between the coastal city of Zawiya and Tripoli, about a half hour away, Italian Foreign Ministry spokesman Maurizio Massari told CNN. 
 
 Massari said it was unclear who was responsible, but that the ministry assumed it was pro-Gadhafi forces. Two of the journalists are from Corriere della Sera and one each from La Stampa and Avvenire. 
 
 Avvenire's foreign editor, Paolo Alfieri, said his kidnapped journalist, Claudio Monici, called the newsroom and spoke for about five minutes. During the conversation, Monici identified the others as Elisabetta Rosaspina and Giuseppe Sarcina from Corriere della Sera and Sono Domenico Quirico from La Stampa. 
 
 Alfieri, who described Monici's voice as calm, said the journalist reported that the four had been en route from Zawiya toward the capital when they were stopped by a road block. There, the four journalists were beaten and one of the drivers was killed, Monici said. Still, he described the four journalists as "well." 
 
 [Updated 4:40 p.m. ET, 10:40 p.m. in Libya] More details about Saadi Gadhafi's apparent efforts to negotiate a cease-fire with U.S. and NATO officials: He wrote in an e-mail to CNN's Nic Robertson: "I will try to save my city Tripoli and 2 millions of people living there ... otherwise Tripoli will be lost forever like Somalia." 
 
 Without a cease-fire, he added, "Soon it will be a sea of blood." NATO has been enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya since March, and has conducted airstrikes against Libyan military targets as rebels advanced. 
 
 Saadi Gadhafi is one of Moammar Gadhafi's sons, and he's one of three Gadhafi sons who the rebel National Transitional Council announced had been captured during their weekend advance on Tripoli. However, they said Monday that one of the other two, Mohammed Gadhafi, had escaped. And Saif al-Islam Gadhafi - a top adviser to his father - made an appearance before international journalists early Tuesday to refute reports of his arrest. 
 
 There was no immediate comment from NTC officials on Saadi Gadhafi's status or his offer. 
 
 [Updated 3:42 p.m. ET, 9:42 p.m. in Libya] The rebels' National Transitional Council announced that a Benghazi businessman offered a $2.5 million bounty on Gadhafi's head. Earlier, the figure was reported to have been $1.67 million. 
 
 [Updated 3:37 p.m. ET, 9:37 p.m. in Libya] The International Committee of the Red Cross is sending two surgical teams to Tripoli, where medical facilities are overwhelmed with people injured in the conflict between rebels and Gadhafi loyalists, spokesman Robin Waudo said. 
 
 The teams will visit different hospitals and assist where needed, Waudo said. 
 
 Waudo said some of Tripoli's medical facilities do not have enough medical supplies, and some health workers are not coming to work because of the fighting. 
 
 [Updated 3:31 p.m. ET, 9:31 p.m. in Libya] The International Committee of the Red Cross, whose vehicles shuttled roughly 40 hostage journalists away from Tripoli's Rixos Hotel on Wednesday, talked to both the rebels and Gadhafi loyalists to get security guarantees so they could pick up the reporters, an ICRC spokesman said. 
 
 By the time the ICRC personnel arrived at the hotel, the gunmen who'd been holding the journalists were gone, ICRC spokesman Robin Waudo told CNN. "Only journalists were left," he said. 
 
 He said the ICRC had been in contact with the journalists since last week, when one of them told the organization that the reporters weren't free to leave the hotel. 
 
 Gunmen loyal to Gadhafi weren't letting the reporters depart the hotel for days, saying that it was too dangerous to leave, and that the reporters needed to stay for their own safety. 
 
 [Updated 3:09 p.m. ET, 9:09 p.m. in Libya] Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez says his country's embassy in Libya's capital was "attacked and plundered," Venezuelan state media reported Wednesday. 
 
 Chavez and Moammar Gadhafi are close allies. The Venezuelan president has spoken out numerous times since unrest ergupted in Libya, accusing the United States and other countries of blowing the situation out of proportion to justify an invasion. 
 
 [Updated 2:27 p.m. ET, 8:27 p.m. in Libya] Reuters, citing the Italian Foreign Ministry, is reporting that Italian journalists were abducted near the coastal city of Zawiya on Wednesday morning. 
 
 [Updated 1:09 p.m. ET, 7:09 p.m. in Libya] Gadhafi forces have entrenched themselves in villages on the east side of Tripoli's airport and are launching attacks from there, rebels stationed at the airport are telling CNN’s Arwa Damon. 
 
 "Rebels are shooting back, but because Gadhafi forces are inside these villages they are concerned about civilians," Damon reported. 
 
 NATO jets are circling the areas, Damon said, but are also not firing because of concerns about civilian casualties. 
 
 Damon said rebels continue to believe it is possible Gadhafi himself is in the area or at nearby farms his family owns. 
 
 "They say that the fact that this airport has come under attack so frequently, and not just single attacks, complex, simultaneous attacks, leads them to believe there is someone [Gadhafi loyalists] are trying to protect moving through the area," Damon said. 
 
 [Updated 1:09 p.m. ET, 7:09 p.m. in Libya] French President Nicolas Sarkozy Wednesday proposed a September 1 international conference for Libya. 
 
 Libyan opposition leader Mahmoud Jibril, appearing with Sarkozy at a press conference, said the day has resonance. Moammar Gadhafi led a coup that brought him to power on September 1, 1969. 
 
 [Updated 12:57 p.m. ET, 6:57 p.m. in Libya] NATO has begun high-level internal discussions on how to protect Libya's mustard gas supplies if the stockpile suddenly was deemed to no longer be secure, an Obama administration official tells CNN. 
 
 [Updated 12:47 p.m. ET, 6:47 p.m. in Libya] Through Tuesday, NATO warplanes have flown 20,121 sorties over Libya since the beginning of the alliance's involvement there on March 31, the alliance said Wednesday. 
 
 NATO said it scored "key hits" Tuesday on two armored fighting vehicles, two military heavy trucks, three surface-to-air missile systems and one radar in the Tripoli area. In the Ras Lanuf area, three armed vehicles and three multiple rocket launchers were hit. And in the Zuwarah area, two tanks, three armed vehicles, two military trucks and one military facility were struck. 
 
 [Updated 12:36 p.m. ET, 6:36 p.m. in Libya] CNN's Frederik Pleitgen, reporting from Benghazi, Libya, says there are still strongholds of support for Moammar Gadhafi in areas around Libya. Rebel leaders are debating how to deal with those pockets of resistance to try to contain bloodshed, Pleitgen reports. 
 
 [Updated 12:30 p.m. ET, 6:30 p.m. in Libya] The U.N. Security Council will meet at 3 p.m. Wednesday to discuss the release of $1.5 billion in urgent humanitarian aid for Libya, CNN's Richard Roth reports. 
 
 [Updated 12:23 p.m. ET, 6:23 p.m. in Libya] CNN's Dan Rivers, speaking to a senior Libyan opposition official, learned that a large portion of the southern half of the capitol of Tripoli remains dangerous. 
 
 While much of Tripoli is in rebel hands and is dotted with rebel checkpoints, there are areas where the rebels are not in control and elements of Gadhafi forces are in the streets taking shots at people. The sound of celebratory gunfire mixed with sounds of fighting make it difficult for people to ascertain what is going on, Rivers was told. 
 
 [Updated 12:11 p.m. ET, 6:11 p.m. in Libya] There is "no evidence to indicate" Moammar Gadhafi has left Libya, White House Deputy Press Secretary Josh Earnest said Wednesday. 
 
 The latest developments, however, "are an indication" that Gadhafi's grip on power "is slipping," Earnest said. This is a "testament to the resolve and courage of the Libyan people." 
 
 [Updated 11:51 a.m. ET, 5:51 p.m. in Libya] CNN producer Jomana Karadsheh, who was trapped with CNN's Matthew Chance, described her feelings after being freed from the Rixos Hotel: 
 
 "It's good to be out, it's good to be free," she said. "I cannot explain to you what an emotional rollercoaster this has been. Especially today was really hard. Speaking Arabic, I was involved in most of the negotiations, trying to secure a safe passage for us to leave." 
 
 Karadsheh explained that over the course of the last few days, she began talking with one of the Gadhafi loyalists to try and find common ground to help secure their release. 
 
 Karadsheh said she talked to the guard about his kids and his family, and then she talked to him about how she wanted to see her family. 
 
 "He got tears in his eyes at that moment," she said. "Slowly myself and another colleague here, an Arab camera man, sat there with him and said things are changing out there ... just let us go. It was a slow process but it worked out at the end." 
 
 Their release, Karadsheh said, helps put in perspective how things have changed in Tripoli. Just one week ago, armed pro-Gadhafi forces controlled the entire area. 
 
 "Walking out of the hotel, I didn’t know what was going to be out there," she said. "I came out to a new Libya. I saw green flags, the rebel flags, it felt like a happy Tripoli. It was a very different [Tripoli] from what I had seen before I was taken hostage." 
 
 [Updated 11:20 a.m. ET, 5:20 p.m. in Libya] CNN’s Matthew Chance reports that he and other hostage reporters at the Rixos Hotel Hotel faced extremely difficult conditions while they were trapped there for days. 
 
 “Gunmen kicked down doors, rifled through our things,�? he said. 
 
 Chance described how he lied on his belly for 13 hours at one point to avoid being shot as gunfire erupted outside the hotel. 
 
 He described how Gadhafi loyalists with green bandanas holding Kalashnikovs as they patrolled the lobby. 
 
 Chance said he “felt the lifting of a weight�? when he was finally released because he and other journalists feared they would be used as human shields. 
 
 [Updated 11:20 a.m. ET, 5:20 p.m. in Libya] The general in charge of Moammar Gadhafi’s security detail has been working with the rebels for a month and has ordered the Libyan leader’s guards to put down their weapons, a rebel source tell CNN’s Dan Rivers. 
 
 CNN could not independently verify the report. 
 
 [Updated 10:47 a.m. ET, 4:47 p.m. in Libya] CNN's Matthew Chance and his production team, who have been trapped in the Rixos Hotel in Tripoli, have left the hotel to freedom, Chance reports. 
 
 The hotel was under the control of Gadhafi loyalists. 
 
 It has been “an emotional rollercoaster of the past five days,�? Chance said. 
 
 “We’ve got all the journalists into these four cars plus a civilian car and we are now driving through the deserted streets of Tripoli to our freedom essentially," Chance said. The Red Cross helped the 36 journalists get through checkpoints, he said. 
 
 “We’ve been living in fear for the past five days because we’ve been being held against our will by these crazy gunmen,�? he said. 
 
 “Its been an absolute nightmare,�? he said. “The fact that we got out of the hotel, people are crying. People are weeping with relief." 
 
 The situation ended when Gadhafi loyalists on guard in the hotel were told about the changing situation in Tripoli. Chance reported that when when the Gadhafi troops realized the regime might be over and there might not be much left to fight for a guard then came up to the journalists and said, “Look, we’re not going to stop you from leaving anymore,�? Chance reported. The journalists then were able to arrange their transportation from the hotel. 
 
 Chance, who has been trapped in the hotel for five days, just hit publish on a slew of tweets that captured the past hour of how he and the others got out of the hotel: 
 
 @mchancecnn : "Here is timeline of events that have happened in the last hour at the #Rixos ......" 
 
 @mchancecnn " : "330p local time: Negotiating with guards for our release. They said we can leave, but in small groups. #rixos 
 
 #rixos4" @mchancecnn : "We are expecting the ICRC and Chinese embassy to send cars to pick us up. Fingers crossed. #rixos 
 
 
 
 @mchancecnn @mchancecnn : "4:00p local time: Pandemonium in lobby of hotel, all going back upstairs. Another anti- climax? #rixos : "415p local time: This feels like the end game in this dramatic and unpleasant situation. #rixos 
 
 @mchancecnn : "Running across upper floors of hotel to find a flag with TV written on it. They want to put it on the car. #rixos @mchancecnn : "These tweets are a timeline of the last hour at the #rixos @mchancecnn : "Getting flags with “TV�? on them ready for when we are released. Which we hope is soon. #rixos @mchancecnn : "BBC cars arrives at #rixos , BBC crew is leaving the hotel." @mchancecnn : "436pm local time: BBC has left the hotel" @mchancecnn : "437pm local time: ICRC cars have arrived at the hotel." @mchancecnn : "438pm local time: Now pulling out of #rixos hotel after 6 days of a complete nightmare. Still dodgy situation" 
 
 @mchancecnn : "439pm local time: Crammed with other journos in the car. Reuters, other cameramen, FOX, and AP #rixos 
 
 @mchancecnn : "We have been holed up together for what seems like an eternity. We could finally get out freedom!!! #rixos 
 
 @mchancecnn : "I can see the NTC rebels. We are nearly there!" 
 
 [Updated 10:33 a.m. ET, 4:33 p.m. in Libya] Moammar Gadhafi's son Saadi Gadhafi is trying to get in touch with U.S. and rebel authorities to negotiate a cease-fire in Tripoli, CNN's Nic Robertson reports. 
 
 Robertson said he has been in contact with Saadi Gadhafi, a businessman and one-time professional soccer player, by email. 
 
 "I have authority" to negotiate, Saadi Gadhafi wrote, according to Robertson. 
 
 "He'd like to negotiate a cease-fire to avoid further bloodshed," Robertson reports. 
 
 Saadi Gadhafi's emails seem authentic as they resemble previous correspondence with him, Robertson said. 
 
 [Updated 10:19 a.m. ET, 4:19 p.m. in Libya] Libyan rebels are offering a reward of $1.67 million for the capture or killing of Moammar Gadhafi, Agence France Presse reports. 
 
 "The NTC supports the initiative of businessmen who are offering 2 million dinars for the capture of Moammar Gadhafi, dead or alive," Mustafa Abdul Jalil said in Tripoli, according to AFP. 
 
 [Updated 10:14 a.m. ET, 4:14 p.m. in Libya] CNN's Sara Sidner reports from Tripoli that there is a real divide when looking at different areas of Libya as to how “free�? they are. 
 
 “There’s a sense in [Tripoli] that this thing is over, yet there are still other neighborhoods where we are being told … there are snipers; Gadhafi loyalists are armed to the teeth.�? 
 
 [Updated 10:09 a.m. ET, 4:09 p.m. in Libya] The United Nations Security Council may soon free up assets for use by anti-Gadhafi forces in Libya, a Western diplomat said Wednesday. 
 
 The United States, France, and Britain were discussing a resolution that would allow the rebel forces to use money previously held by Gadhafi's government. 
 
 [Updated 10:07 a.m. ET, 4:07 p.m. in Libya] Libyan rebel leaders say any Moammar Gadhafi loyalists who capture or kill Gadhafi will be offered amnesty, according to a report from Reuters news service. 
 
 "The National Transitional Council announces that any of his inner cicle who kill Gadhafi or capture him, society will give amnesty or pardon for any crime he has committed," council chairman Mustafa Abdul Jalil told a news conference, according to Reuters. 
 
 [Updated 9:52 a.m. ET, 3:52 p.m. in Libya] CNN’s Arwa Damon, reporting from near the Tripoli airport, said rebels believe attacks on the airport are part of Gadhafi force plans to clear a path for the leader to escape. 
 
 “The senior rebel commander believes the intensity of fighting he has seen with multiple attacks being launched [towards the airport] is directly linked to Gadhafi’s whereabouts,�? Damon said. 
 
 The rebel leader said he believes the fighting is an attempt to clear a path for Gadhafi, since the airport is located on a key highway, Damon reported. 
 
 “All day today loyalists are firing ground rockets and we hear automatic machine guns,�? Damon reported. 
 
 Rebels also said they believe they may have spotted Gadhafi Tuesday night when the rebels were breaking Ramadan fast. Damon said rebels told her they spotted a convoy that included an armored Mercedes, a car Gadhafi frequently had traveled in. The rebel said he passed that information on to NATO in case it may, in fact, be Gadhafi. 
 
 [Updated 9:44 a.m. ET, 3:44 p.m. in Libya] CNN's Sara Sidner, reporting from Tripoli on Wednesday, says some residents of the city were out and about to check on the situation, a change from previous days. People are willing to show their faces and tell journalists their names, she said, indicating that fears of the Moammar Gadhafi regime were abating. 
 
 "They are just extremely relieved. They are coming out here to show their support for the rebels," she said. "They say they are tired of being scared." 
 
 [Updated 9:34 a.m. ET, 3:34 p.m. in Libya] Special forces troops from Britain, France, Jordan and Qatar on the ground in Libya have stepped up operations in Tripoli and other cities in recent days to help rebel forces as they conducted their final advance on the Gadhafi regime, a NATO official confirmed to CNN Wednesday. 
 
 British forces, in particular, have assisted rebel units by "helping them get better organized to conduct operations," the official said. Some of these forces from all the countries have traveled with rebel units from towns across Libya as they advanced on Tripoli. 
 
 The official declined to be identified due to the sensitive nature of the intelligence information. Overall, the special forces have helped rebels "improve their tactics," the official said. 
 
 The forces have also provided targeting information to warplanes conducting airstrikes and conducting reconnaissance missions in Tripoli, he said. This has been especially critical in recent days in the capital, as fighters from both sides have mixed together in close range. The forces have also assisted rebels in communications as they conducted the assault on the capital. 
 
 Qatari and French forces also have provided some armaments, the official said. 
 
 [Updated 9:30 a.m. ET, 3:30 p.m. in Libya] CNN's Sara Sidner, who is reporting from Tripoli, tweets an update: 
 
 @sarasidnerCNN: "Mortars and rounds coming into Bab al Azzazia today from neighbourhood in the East" 
 
 [Updated 9:13 a.m. ET, 3:13 p.m. in Libya] Mustafa Abdul Jalil, chairman of the rebels' National Transitional Council, said the "prevailing thought" in the NTC is to put Moammar Gadhafi and his allies on trial in Libya, not at the International Criminal Court at The Hague. He said parliamentary and presidential elections will be held in eight months. 
 
 [Updated 9:04 a.m. ET, 3:04 p.m. in Libya] Mustafa Abdul Jalil, National Transitional Council chairman, told Italy's La Repubblica daily newspaper on Wednesday that Tripoli is "80 percent under our control." He said there are pockets of resistance in Tripoli and reported "a large concentration" of armed forces in Sirte, east of the capital. 
 
 [Updated 8:28 a.m. ET, 2:28 p.m. in Libya] Moammar Gadhafi's whereabouts in Libya remained unknown, but his likeness turned up in a place that indicates his new standing in Libya: A Gadhafi tapestry was laid out as the doormat to Libya's embassy in London, The Telegraph reports on its live blog. 
 
 [Updated 8:04 a.m. ET, 2:04 p.m. in Libya] CNN senior international correspondent Matthew Chance, who is trapped along with about 40 other journalists at the Rixos hotel in Tripoli, Libya, urged other journalists in the city Wednesday not to come to the hotel for fear they, too, would not be allowed to leave by forces still loyal to Moammar Gadhafi. 
 
 [Updated 6:39 a.m. ET, 12:39 p.m. in Libya] Several rockets landed near Tripoli International Airport on Wednesday, CNN crews observed. 
 
 Four rebel fighters were found bound and executed near a hospital northeast of the airport, said Mukhtar Al-Akhbar, a rebel commander. 
 
 [Updated 6:37 a.m. ET, 12:37 p.m. in Libya] Russia is not yet prepared to recognize the rebels as the government of Libya, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on state TV Wednesday, saying there were now "two governing parties in the country, and despite the rebels' success in Tripoli, Gadhafi and his loyalists retain influence and military potential." 
 
 He said Moscow wanted "the Libyans themselves to come to an agreement," and that Russia would consider recognizing the rebels as the government if they "have the power and spirit and opportunity to unite the country on a new democratic basis." 
 
 [Updated 6:15 a.m. ET, 12:15 p.m. in Libya] Incoming fire flew into the Bab al-Aziziya compound in Tripoli on Wednesday, Libyan rebels and a CNN team report. The compound - which was the heart of Libyan ruler Moammar Gadhafi's regime - was taken over by rebels on Tuesday. 
 
 [Updated 6:13 a.m. ET, 12:13 p.m. in Libya] Clashes are taking place Wednesday outside Tripoli's Rixos hotel, said CNN's Matthew Chance, who is "hunkered down" in the hotel. 
 
 [Updated 5:45 a.m. ET, 11:45 a.m. in Libya] A doctor at a Tripoli clinic said Wednesday his facility is nearly full and has treated more than 300 injures in the past three days. He reported "a lot" of limb amputations and injuries to civilians, including children. 
 
 [Updated 4:55 a.m. ET, 10:55 a.m. in Libya] Russia will consider establishing relations with the Libyan "insurgents" if they have enough strength to consolidate the country on a democratic footing, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said, according to the Russian news agency Interfax. 
 
 [Updated 4:35 a.m. ET, 10:37 a.m. in Libya] In addition to casualties among rebel and government forces, civilians have also been wounded, "which is quite a concern for us," said Robin Waudo, spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Tripoli. He said he was not able to release a casualty toll. 
 
 Waudo also said some health workers are not coming to work because of the precarious situation in Tripoli. 
 
 [Updated 3:37 a.m. ET, 9:37 a.m. in Libya] CNN's Matthew Chance says pro-Gadhafi guards who had been in the Rixos hotel's lobby armed with assault rifles have largely disappeared from the lobby. But he said international journalists are still not able to leave the hotel. 
 
 A meeting of international leaders Wednesday would focus on organizing aid for Libya. The meeting will include officials from the National Transitional Council, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Italy, France, the United Kingdom and Turkey, said Mahmoud Jibril of the NTC. The aid money would go toward paying salaries for Libyans and covering medical treatment for those injured in the fighting, he said. 
 
 Rebels fully controlled the airport but were struggling to control an area east of it early Wednesday. The unexpected resistance caused them to speculate that loyalists could be protecting a high-profile figure in the vicinity. 
 
 [Updated 2:13 a.m. ET, 8:13 a.m. in Libya] South Korea recognizes the Libyan rebels' National Transitional Council as "the legitimate governing authority representing the Libyan people" and it plans to deliver humanitarian aid worth $1 million, South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade announced Wednesday. 
 
 China hopes to play a "positive role" in Libya's reconstruction, a commerce ministry spokesman said Wednesday. "We also hope to further develop the economic and trade cooperation with Libya. We're willing to work along with the international community." 
 
 [Updated 1:20 a.m. ET, 7:20 a.m. in Libya] Two Arabic networks have aired an audio message purportedly from Libyan ruler Moammar Gadhafi that called upon all Libyans "to clear the city of Tripoli and eliminate the criminals, traitors and rats. ... They are hiding between the families and inside the civilian houses. It's your duty to enter these houses and take them out." 
 
 CNN cannot confirm the authenticity of the message. 
 
 [Updated 11:11 p.m. ET Tuesday, 5:11 a.m. Wednesday in Libya] A woman living in Tripoli tells CNN's Anderson Cooper about her neighborhood getting hit by rockets from what she believes were pro-Gadhafi forces, and about how she is proud of the rebels who have risen against Gadhafi: 
 
 [Updated 10:58 p.m. Tuesday ET, 4:58 a.m. Wednesday in Libya] In an interview with CNN, former Gadhafi aide Bashir Saleh called for an end to the violence. "I appeal to everybody who has his arms to think before shooting - from our side or from the Gadhafi side. It's time to stop the bloodshed," he said. 
 
 Asked what Gadhafi had told him during the uprising when he made similar comments, Saleh said, "He say that he has a job and we have to continue our job. Job is to stop the rebellions, and we have the right to do so."
– The UN has unfrozen $1.5 billion in frozen Libyan assets to be used as humanitarian aid as it called on both sides of the conflict to avoid revenge killings, the BBC reports. The money had been seized by the US in the spring. It won’t go straight to the rebels, notes the New York Times: Instead, the US and international agencies will direct it toward humanitarian efforts. The head of the Transitional National Council pledged to “favor the countries which helped us” in accordance with “the support which they gave us.” With about half the Council in Tripoli, the city is largely in rebel hands—but fighting has continued, including reports of summary killings by both rebels and loyalists. Meanwhile, rebels have met opposition in their struggle to reach Moammar Gadhafi’s hometown, Sirte, which British planes bombed last night, hammering what Britain called a “large headquarters bunker,” CNN reports. Meanwhile, an empty hospital in the Abu Salim area—which has seen vicious fighting—held dozens of decomposing bodies, notes CBS News.