Rebels advance to Tripoli

Celebrations in Libya as rebels advance in Tripoli

With the support of NATO’s air strikes against Gaddafi’s regime, rebels have advanced to Tripoli. Thomas Erdbrink and Liz Sly at the Washington Post report: 

TRIPOLI, Libya — Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi’s four-decade-long rule over the country was crumbling at breakneck speed as hundreds of rebel fighters swept into Tripoli and took control Monday of the symbolically significant Green Square in the heart of the city.

With rebel leaders saying late Sunday that Gad­dafi’s compound was surrounded, that his son Saif al-Islam had been captured and that his presidential guard had surrendered, the six-month-old battle for control of Libya appeared to be hurtling toward a dramatic finale.

In a written statement, President Obama said: “Tonight, the momentum against the Qadhafi regime has reached a tipping point. Tripoli is slipping from the grasp of a tyrant.”

Early Monday there were reports of heavy clashes near Gaddafi’s compound. Rebel spokesman Mohammed Abdel-Rahman said that tanks had emerged from the complex and began firing, AP said.

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