TRIPOLI HAS FALLEN – Rebels Take Gaddafi’s Compound!
42 years of tyranny comes to an end.
Here come the rebels.
A Libyan rebel fighter celebrates as they drive through Tripoli’s Qarqarsh district August 22, 2011. (REUTERS/Bob Strong)
SKY News was reporting from inside the compound:
Rebel fighters trying to topple the regime of Moammar Gadhafi fired into the air in celebration after entering the Libyan strongman’s compound. Gadhafi has vowed to fight to the death but his whereabouts are unknown.
CBS reported, via Free Republic:
Rebels on Tuesday stormed Muammar Qaddafi’s fortress-like compound in Tripoli Tuesday after an all-day battle against forces loyal to the longtime leader.
The sprawling complex, heavily damaged by NATO airstrikes, is the most defining symbol of Qaddafi’s nearly 42-year rule and its fall, a day after the rebels swept into the Libyan capital with stunning speed, comes as the opposition faced pockets of resistance and fighting rocked the capital.
CBS News correspondent Barry Petersen, reporting from inside Qaddafi’s compound, said rebel soldiers didn’t find anyone after breaching the stronghold through its north gate.
“There was no one from Qaddafi’s army; no one was there,” a rebel soldier told Petersen.
An Associated Press reporter at the scene said the compound’s green gates were blasted open and hundreds of rebels were pouring into the complex, some driving golf carts as the area resounded with celebratory gunfire.
The Guardian has live updates.
There was no sign of Gaddafi or his sons in the compound.
