LIBYA: Rebels still meeting resistance in Tripoli
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As thousands of Libyans celebrate the rebel advance into Tripoli, opposition leaders say they are still meeting sporadic resistance from forces loyal to leader Moammar Kadafi.
‘I warn you, there are still pockets of resistance in and around Tripoli,’ senior rebel leader Mahmoud Jibril said on the opposition Al Ahrar television channel, according to Agence France-Presse. ‘The fight is not over yet. God willing, in a few hours our victory will be complete.’
He urged Libyans not to take revenge against Kadafi supporters, saying the world is watching.
‘Today, as we celebrate victory, I appeal to your conscience and to your responsibility: Don’t get carried away. Do not avenge yourselves, don’t pillage, don’t insult foreigners and respect the prisoners,’ he was quoted as saying.
Sky News special correspondent Alex Crawford, who was with rebel fighters, reported that they met no opposition when they swept into Tripoli’s main square, the symbolic heart of the city. But CNN’s Sara Sidner later tweeted that the square emptied when rumors spread that forces loyal to Kadafi were approaching.
‘Green square nearly empty,’ she said in a tweet. ‘We were warned to get out. Rebels say Gadhafi troops advancing toward square.’
Journalists in the city also reported hearing heavy gunfire from the area around Kadafi’s compound.
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-- Alexandra Zavis
