Untuk melihat video footage, click : http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/gaddafis-son-makes-appearance-after-alleged-arrest/2011/08/22/gIQADO8XXJ_video.html
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/muammar-gaddafi-missing-as-son-saif-al-islam-parades-around-tripoli/story-e6frg6so-1226120815279 Muammar Gaddafi missing as son Saif al-Islam parades around Tripoli a.. John Lyons, Zintan, Libya b.. From: The Australian c.. August 24, 2011 12:30AM Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of Libya leader Muammar, is surrounded by supporters and journalists at his father's residential complex in Tripoli yesterday. Source: AFP A DEFIANT Muammar Gaddafi declared early today he had no intention of leaving Libya as the rebel government-in-waiting tried to pound him out of his compound in Tripoli. World Chess Association president Kirsan Illyumzhinov said Gaddafi was "in Tripoli, will not leave country". Rebels last night launched a massive offensive on the dictator's Bab al-Azizya compound, hours after his heir-apparent, Saif al-Islam, appeared at the Rixos Hotel - home to foreign journalists since the uprising began in February - to lead a tour of the regime's last stand. The sound of the fighting last night at Bab al-Azizya - 2km from the Rixos - was the most intense in the city since rebels surged into the capital four days ago, as thick smoke billowed out of the complex. The rebels said they would use captured tanks on the Gaddafi compound in the assault that began at noon (8pm AEST). Speaking at the Rixos last night as his father's troops fought rebels, Saif said the dictator was still in the capital: "(He) and the entire family is in Tripoli." He declined to give the precise location of the strongman but his comments mark the first indication by the family of his whereabouts since Sunday. He is believed to be bunkered down in Bab al-Aziziya. Saif's emergence earlier yesterday came as the dictator's eldest son, Mohammed Gaddafi, whose arrest had also been announced by rebels, escaped from house arrest. Waving to crowds with a "V-for-victory" sign, Saif said he had come out in public to "refute the lies" over his reported arrest. "The ICC can go to hell," he said. "We are going to break the backbone of the rebels." The tour covered mainly the area known still to be under the regime's control - the district around the Rixos and Bab al-Aziziya. Speaking in Brussels last night, NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said "the end is near" for the regime. "For the Gaddafi regime, this is the final chapter - they're fighting a losing battle," she said. Speaking from the mission's Naples headquarters, Operation Unified Protector spokesman Roland Lavoie admitted that landing the killer blow in Tripoli is proving "far more complex". The alliance's UN mandate and the context of street fighting in the capital restricts NATO's influence in the rebel push on the Gaddafi compound. "We do not provide close air support," Colonel Lavoie said. During urban fighting, he said "being engaged directly alongside combatants would not really be practical". The rebels control most of the country and an estimated 80 per cent of Tripoli, but the 69-year-old dictator could continue to inspire confusion from his compound in the capital. The 60,000-strong army that the regime had threatened would meet the rebels if they entered Tripoli was nowhere to be seen, but Gaddafi's personal guards continued to fire at rebels. US President Barack Obama called for "an inclusive transition", demanding that Gaddafi "explicitly" give up power and warning the rebels that their struggles were "not over yet". Rebel chief Mustafa Abdel Jalil conceded in Benghazi that not all of Tripoli was under rebel control and cautioned that "the real moment of victory is when Gaddafi is captured". Additional reporting: agencies Related Coverage a.. Rebels take Gaddafi compound Courier Mail, 3 hours ago b.. Libya rebels overrun Gaddafi compound The Australian, 4 hours ago c.. 'It is finished': Gaddafi's compound taken Adelaide Now, 6 hours ago d.. Rebels capture Gaddafi compound Herald Sun, 7 hours ago e.. Fierce fighting at Gaddafi's compound The Australian, 10 hours ago [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
