Gaddafi the rat runs to his last hole: Dictator goes to ground leaving loyalist gunmen to fight rebels in last stand

• Tanks open fire as rebel fighters try to break into Gaddafi's compound
• Rebels chant 'We are coming for you, frizz-head' as they enter Green Square - already renamed Martyr's Square
• Internet and mobile phones turned back by the rebels as they take control of 95 per cent of Tripoli
• Wild celebrations of last night give way to grisly scenes of dead bodies on the street
• Government snipers deployed through city as fierce clashes begin with rebels using AK47s and grenades
• Gaddafi's three sons being held by rebels as leader says Tripoli 'is now like Baghdad' in latest audio message
• David Cameron cuts short Cornish holiday and says regime is 'falling apart'
• President Obama said Libya is 'slipping from the grasp of a tyrant'
• Oil price falls by $3 a barrel following rebels' advance

By Andrew Malone

Last updated at 12:46 PM on 22nd August 2011

Colonel Gaddafi was today in hiding after rebel forces swept into the Libyan capital and fierce firefights took place outside the presidential compound.
Heavy gunfire continues to echo across the city after the encircled Libyan leader's die-hard loyalists launched a final counter-attack.
Government tanks emerged from the complex, known as Bab al-Aziziya, and began firing shortly after dawn following an assault by rebels.
Residents said that fighters had attempted to scale the walls of Gaddafi's compound but were met by a wall of gunfire. The Libyan leader still controls the Rixos area in the south west of Tripoli and mercenaries are continuing to fight for him. His youngest son, Khamis al-Gaddafi, is understood to be spearheading a fightback.

Rebel fighters celebrate as they drive through Tripoli's Qarqarsh district this morning. Elsewhere in the capital pockets of resistance continue against the advance

A dead fighter lies in a street in the capital covered with a blanket. Heavy fighting has been taking place close to the presidential compound

In the most decisive 24 hours since the conflict began, rebels now look to close to seizing control of the North African country.
Rebels claim that they now control some 95 per cent of Tripoli despite a fightback by Gaddafi troops after four hours of calm. They said that around 1,300 people have been killed in Tripoli.
Nouri Echtiwi, a rebel spokesman, said: 'Four hours of calm followed the street celebrations. Then tanks and pick-up trucks with heavy machine guns mounted on the back came out of Bab al-Aziziya, the last of Gadhafi's bastions, and started firing and shelling Assarin Street and al-Khalifa area. They fired randomly in all directions whenever they heard gunfire.'

 Sources said that shelling could be heard behind the Bab al-Azizya compound and that the rebels  were 'in a weaker position' due to the heavier weapons being used by pro-Gaddafi forces.

Nato aircraft have been heard over Tripoli but as yet they have not launched airstrikes and could be carrying out surveillance work.
Gun battles were raging in the Gargaresh district of Tripoli where government snipers could be seen on the streets. Snipers were also positioned on the main road through Madinat Seyahiyah. Rebels began firing back with AK47s and RPGs.
They are beginning to prepare for an assault on Green Square using jeeps mounted with rocket launchers.

Celebrations: Fireworks were the only explosives in Tripoli last night as swathes of residents celebrated the advancement of the rebels. Today, tanks have opened fire on the rebels

Thousands of people gathered in central Benghazi, in the east of the country, last night following the news from Tripoli

Making history: Euphoric fighters celebrate with residents of the Tripoli, the symbolic heart of the regime, as the rebel forces continued their advance

The rebels have been securing key government buildings in the city and telling residents to stay inside while offering them immunity if they surrender their weapons. Supportive residents were handing out milk and water to the rebels.
Convoys of families on roads are reported to be travelling from around the country towards to Tripoli  to join in the celebrations. The mood in the capital was the most buyout yet, as residents waved flags and sounded their car horns today.
Elsewhere in Libya, there were clashes between rebels and pro-Gaddafi mercenaries near al-Hani area while more artillery had been captured from an airbase.

The Libyan leader was believed to be cowering in a bunker outside Tripoli, as heavy fighting erupted around his compound and wild celebrations broke out across the country among opposition supporters cheering on the rebels.
As the dictator's regime appeared to be on the brink of collapse following 46 Nato airstrikes yesterday, independent Libyan television claimed the tyrant had ‘run away like a coward’.

Celebration: Opposition supporters in Tajura, Tripoli, were out in numbers as the noose around Gaddafi's regime tightened

Jubilant: Rebels in Tajura, a suburb of Tripoli, celebrate the taking of large parts of the capital

Celebration: A man on the roof of a building in Benghazi fires a flare into the air as other fireworks go off around him

The dictator could be offered exile by the African Union in Angola or Zimbabwe as his representatives have been in talks with South African officials, according to the news channel Al-Jazeera.
Meanwhile, three of Colonel Gaddafi’s sons are reported to be in the hands of Libyan rebels.

The head of Libya’s National Transitional Council, the rebels’ governing body, said they had arrested Saif al-Islam and Al-Saadi, two of the tyrant’s sons. A third, Muhammad, was reported to have handed  himself in.
Mustafa Abdel Jalil told Al-Jazeera: ‘He (Saif) is being kept in a secure place under close guard until he is handed over to the judiciary.’

Last stand: Gaddafi is in hiding as rebels close in, while his son Saif Al-Islam, right, was last night said to have been captured by the forces

Sons: Al-Saadi Gaddafi, right, the leader's third son has been 'captured' by rebels. Eldest son Mohammed Al-Gaddafi reportedly surrendered to the forces last night

Hatred: A man stamps on a picture of Gaddafi's face in Tripoli, while thousands gathered in Benghazi to celebrate the rebels advancement

And he insisted Saif would not be harmed, telling French newspaper Le Monde: ‘We gave instructions that he is well treated, in order to be judged.’

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi once had a very close relationship with the West and was considered by many to represent a more democratic future for Libya.
But since the uprising began he has become closely allied to his father. The International Criminal Court has a warrant out for his arrest on war crimes charges.
The ICC said that it is also seeking the transfer of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi to The Hague to face charges of crimes against humanity.
'The court as a whole is involved,' Fadi El-Abdallah said. He added that discussions were underway with the Libyan rebel National Transitional Council NTC over a transfer of Saif.

Barack Obama, currently on holiday in Martha's Vinyard,  said that Libya is 'slipping from the grasp of a tyrant' while David Cameron said today that the regime is 'falling apart'

Dodging bullets: Resilient Libyan rebels run for cover from incoming fire as they advance through the town of Maia, 15 miles from Tripoli, yesterday

Victory is close: A rebel fighter organises fellow troops as they approach the 27th Bridge, close to the centre of Tripoli. Right, Gaddafi gunmen turn on their heels and run through the grounds of the Rixos hotel in Tripoli

Damage: A Libyan rebel walks past a smoldering vehicle belonging to fighters loyal to Gaddafi following gun fights yesterday

Carnage: Cars crowd the street and smoke billows into the air at the rebel-captured 27th Bridge yesterday

Gaddafi’s oldest son, Muhammad, ran the company which operated all mobile phones and satellites in the country, as well as being head of the Libyan Olympic Committee.
Al-Saadi, took a far more hands-on role in his father’s regime, as commander of Libya’s Special Forces. He has been accused of ordering the army to fire on unarmed protesters in Benghazi at the start of the uprising.
As wild celebrations erupted across Libya to mark Gaddafi’s apparent departure, there were reports that the dictator, who has been in power for 42 murderous years, was actually moving around a series of bomb-proof bunkers and tunnels beneath the capital.

Armed to the teeth and baying for Gaddafi's blood: Rebels head towards the gates of Tripoli yesterday. They claimed the dictator had reached 'zero hour' for his reign of terror

Riding to victory: A group of Libyan rebels smile and make peace signs as they progress into Tripoli yesterday

Jubilant: This group of Libyan civilians were on the streets of Maia celebrating the rebels advancement

Freedom: A young man carries the flag of the Libyan republic along the streets of Maia

And even as he was supposed to have taken refuge within the complex – which is reputed to be able to withstand a nuclear attack – the dictator broadcast a message as his troops prepared to mount a last stand.
Gaddafi’s official spokesman had previously lashed out against Britain, France and the U.S. – the three countries leading the campaign to oust the dictator – as he warned of a ‘ghastly disaster’ if rebel forces took Tripoli.

Earlier in the day, sources inside the embattled city said pro-Gaddafi forces had put snipers on the rooftops of buildings around Bab al-Aziziyah, Gaddafi’s secret compound, and on the top of a nearby water tower.

His bunker complex is the stuff of Libyan folklore. Tunnels are said to connect vast, cavernous rooms capable of housing tanks, aircraft and weapons.
He also has sleeping quarters in different parts of the complex.
An insight into his desire to seek refuge underground emerged when rebel forces seized control of Benghazi, the country’s second city, in March.
They discovered a series of tunnels and rooms built more than 100 yards below the earth.
But the Tripoli complex is far grander, and some defectors claim there are even tunnels running for hundreds of miles from Gaddafi’s bunker to the south of the country – a possible escape route.

Compound: Two men survey damage at the Gaddafi residence in Tripoli following an air strike. There are reports the home has secret tunnels the tyrant may use to escape

At the start of the uprising, Gaddafi ordered a children’s playground to be built around the secret entrances to the bunker, hoping this would deter targeted Nato airstrikes.
And Nato sources warned the shifting battle lines and the movement of the fighting into built-up areas in Tripoli had made it more difficult to engage airstrikes without endangering civilians.
Downing Street said last night that 'the end is near' for Colonel Gaddafi and called on the Libyan leader to go to avoid more suffering for his people.
Prime Minister David Cameron cut short his holiday in Cornwall to return for talks on the crumbling regime.
He will chair a meeting of the National Security Council on Libya (NSC-L) later today.
David Cameron said this morning that the Libyan 'regime is falling apart and that Gaddafi is in full retreat'.
He added that there was 'no room for complacency' and said that there was 'still lots of work to be done' in the country.
'Gaddafi must stop fighting without any cause and show that he has given up and control of Libya.
'We must do all we can to support the will of the Libyan people. This will be and must be a Libyan lead and Libyan owned process.'
Asked if he felt he was right to commit troops to Libya, Mr Cameron said: 'There is no room for complacency. There is still much more to be done. This is about them, it's not about us.'
A spokesman added: 'Gaddafi has committed appalling crimes against the people of Libya and he must go now to avoid any further suffering for his own people.'

OIL PRICES PLUNGE AS REGIME NEARS COLLAPSE

Oil prices plummeted today as Colonel Gaddafi's regime appeared to be on the verge of collapse.

The price of Brent Crude oil in London plunged more than 3 per cent to $105.5 a barrel this morning. But there is unlikely to be respite at the pumps for beleaguered motorists because it takes weeks for a plunge in the price of fuel to filter through.

The oil markets will be watching carefully and a smooth transition of power in Tripoli likely to send prices falling further. However, there were hopes that an end to the conflict would see the North African country's oil supplies restored and increase global supplies.

The average price of unleaded is currently 134.9p per litre for unleaded and 139.1p for diesel, according to PetrolPrices.com.

When protests against Colonel Gaddafi's regime began in February, petrol was six pence cheaper at 128.9p per litre while diesel was 134.3p.

As the conflict escalated, oil prices shot up as the supplies in Libya, the world's 12th largest oil exporter, were heavily restricted. 

Last year Libya's oilfields were producing 1.65million barrels per day but output has fallen dramatically.

Around 85 per cent of Libyan oil output was exported to Europe until the revolt disrupted the country's production.

JOYOUS LIBYANS DANCE IN STREETS OF LONDON

Libyans poured on to the streets of London to celebrate Gaddafi’s fall early today.
Waving red, black and green opposition flags, hundreds gathered along Edgware Road chanted ‘Libya is free!’ and ‘Gaddafi can go to hell!’ into the early hours.
The rebel supporters, including children as young as ten, banged drums and danced in the street. Others draped themselves in flags and chanted passages from the Koran through megaphones.
Ahmed Hmeid, who went to Edgware Road with his family to celebrate as ‘it is the heart of the Arab community in London’, said it had been an emotional day.
The 25-year-old IT consultant, who lives in Hounslow, said: ‘My dad’s been shaking and in tears all day with joy.
We never thought this day would come. We spoke to our family in Libya and usually you can never say anything insulting about Gaddafi, but they were screaming down the phone at us that they are now free.’
His 65-year-old father Mehdi, who moved to the UK from Tripoli 30 years ago, said: ‘We’ve lived for 42 years as a slave to Gaddafi, now we feel free. The Libyan community in this country was close before, but this has made us even closer.’
Another Libyan, Zian Elghuwel, 24, said: ‘I couldn’t believe it. We’re just so happy Libya is free. This is an incredible time.'

In a statement, President Obama said Libya is 'slipping from the grasp of a tyrant' as the battle between rebels and Gaddafi has reached a 'tipping point'.
Mr Obama, who is on holiday in Martha's Vineyard, said the surest way for the bloodshed to end is for the Libyan leader to relinquish power.
He said: 'The future of Libya is now in the hands of the Libyan people.
'Gaddafi needs to acknowledge the reality that he no longer controls Libya. He needs to relinquish power once and for all.'
The president promised to work in close co-ordination with the rebels and said the US will 'continue to insist that the basic rights of the Libyan people are respected'.
The statement was issued after Mr Obama took part in a conference call with his national security team