Fighting rages for Libyan capital

22 August 2011 Last updated at 16:17 GMT Tripoli resident: "We cannot feel victory until we see Gaddafi captured"

Libyan rebels are battling troops loyal to Col Muammar Gaddafi for control of Tripoli, after they launched an assault on the capital from several directions.

Rebel commanders say they have taken control of about 80% of the capital, including the headquarters of state TV.

But fighting is still raging in parts of the city, and the rebels have not managed to find the Libyan leader.

World leaders have urged Col Gaddafi to step down; Egypt has recognised the rebels as the legitimate government.

The rebels were met by jubilant crowds in central Green Square, which was previously the scene of nightly pro-Gaddafi demonstrations.

They have set up checkpoints in parts of the city, and claim that reinforcements are due to arrive by boat.

But elsewhere in the city they have met stiff resistance.

A rebel spokesman said his forces came under fire from tanks emerging from the Gaddafi compound at Bab al-Azizia in western Tripoli early on Monday, and witnesses say there has been sustained gunfire in the area throughout the day.

Gaddafi loyalists remain in control of the streets around the Rixos Hotel, where many Western journalists are based.

And rebels fighting in the west of the city were pushed back late on Monday.

"We are bracing ourselves for another night of intense street fighting," a Tripoli resident told the BBC.

"I think Gaddafi security forces will resort to guerrilla warfare because they know they do not have the support of the people."

But another resident said rebel fighters were "breaking into people's houses, stealing everything", adding that the rebel assault would be "a disaster for Libya and Nato".

Continue reading the main story Rebel leader Mustafa Abdul Jalil, head of the National Transitional Council (NTC), told a news conference on Monday afternoon that he had no idea where Col Gaddafi was.

Continue reading the main story David Loyn BBC International Development Correspondent

The unity of the rebel forces will come under severe test in the coming days because of the imbalance of power in the country. All of the key military advances have come from forces in the west. But political power is in the hands of leaders from the east in the National Transition Council.

Libya's rebels have in their advance on Tripoli shown far better co-ordination than in the past, and their desire to put members of Gaddafi's family on trial shows restraint and not revenge.

Medical and food aid are the first priority. As soon as possible, western embassies in Tripoli will reopen, and stabilisation advisers, building on lessons learnt in Afghanistan, will assist in ensuring that government services continue.

A draft transition document has an ambitious timetable for a constitution to be drawn up within three months and elections held six months after that. The document also guarantees freedom and basic human rights under the law.

"We have no knowledge of Gaddafi being [in his compound], or whether he is still in or outside Libya," he said.

Mr Abdul Jalil reiterated earlier claims that the rebels have captured Col Gaddafi's son, Saif al-Islam, who was widely expected to succeed his father as leader until the unrest broke out earlier this year.

Flags torn down

The BBC's Tripoli correspondent, Rana Jawad, who has been unable to report openly since March, says people in her neighbourhood in eastern Tripoli were woken by the imam at the local mosque singing the national anthem of the pre-Gaddafi monarchy.

She says there is a sense that the end is near, and that the rebels have achieved what they wanted.

In Green Square rebel supporters tore down the green flags of the Gaddafi government and trampled on portraits of the colonel.

US President Barack Obama in a statement: "The momentum against the Gaddafi regime has reached a tipping point. Tripoli is slipping from the grasp of a tyrant."

UK Prime Minister David Cameron said the Libyan leader had "committed appalling crimes against the people of Libya and he must go now to avoid any further suffering for his own people".

Russia and China also issued statements saying they were willing to accept what the Libyan people decided, and hinted that Col Gaddafi should step down.

The rebels now claim to have detained three of Col Gaddafi's sons - Saif al-Islam, Muhammad and Saadi.

Continue reading the main story 17 Feb: Anti-government protests begin across Libya24 Feb - 6 Mar: Rebels seize control of several towns and cities but are driven back17 Mar: UN authorises no-fly zone and "all necessary measures" to protect civilians19 Mar: First strikes by US, French and British warplanes halt pro-Gaddafi forces30 Mar: Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa defects16-25 Apr: Gaddafi forces bombard rebel-held MisrataMay-Jul: Stalemate as rebels and government troops engage in skirmishesMid-Aug: Rebels seize key towns of Zawiya and Gharyan outside Tripoli21 Aug: Rebels enter TripoliThe International Criminal Court in The Hague is negotiating the transfer of Saif al-Islam on charges of war crimes.

The court is also seeking the arrest of Col Gaddafi and the head of the intelligence service, Abdullah al-Sanussi.

Earlier, the NTC announced earlier that it would move its centre of operations to Tripoli from Benghazi, which has been in rebel hands since the early days of the uprising.

'Armed gangs'

A diplomatic source told the AFP news agency that Col Gaddafi could still be in Bab al-Azizia. He has not been seen in public since May, although he has broadcast audio messages from undisclosed locations.

In an audio message broadcast late on Sunday, the Libyan leader urged residents to "save Tripoli" from the rebels.

"How come you allow Tripoli, the capital, to be under occupation once again?" he asked. "The traitors are paving the way for the occupation forces to be deployed in Tripoli."

Libyan Information Minister Moussa Ibrahim said the Gaddafi government still had 65,000 loyal soldiers under its command.

However, other reports claimed some forces have surrendered to the rebels, including the special battalion charged with securing Tripoli.

Mr Ibrahim said fighting in the city on Sunday had left 1,300 people dead and 5,000 wounded. There is no confirmation of the figures.

He accused Nato of backing "armed gangs" with air power, adding that the Gaddafi government was prepared to negotiate directly with the NTC.

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South Sudan fighting 'kills 100'

11 February 2011 Last updated at 13:51 GMT George Athor did not attend the January signing ceremony More than 100 people are now said to have died in fighting in south Sudan after rebels attacked the army, officials say.

Earlier reports said this week's fighting had killed 16 people.

Some 39 of those killed were civilians, a south Sudan army spokesman said.

The clashes between fighters loyal to George Athor and south Sudan's army come as the region prepare for independence from the north following last month's referendum.

Some 99% of people voted to secede from the north, according to official results announced this week.

The UN refugee agency says it expects some 800,000 people to move from north to south Sudan this year.

The UNHCR said this would put pressure on the already fragile situation in the south, which is insecure and lacks basic services.

Mr Athor took up arms last year, alleging fraud in state elections, but signed a ceasefire last month just before the historic vote.

Security challenges

Twenty members of Southern Sudan's security forces were killed, along with 30 rebels, taking the new death toll to 105, southern army spokesman Philip Aguer said.

During the clashes, two army trucks were blown up by land mines near the town of Fangak in Jonglei state, he said.

He said Mr Athor's men attacked on Wednesday afternoon and clashes continued on Thursday.

Jonglei is the south's most populous state.

When Mr Athor took up arms last April, the south accused him of being used by the north to stir up trouble and derail the referendum - charges denied at the time by northern officials.

He agreed to the ceasefire deal with the SPLA days before the referendum vote began - although he did not attend the signing ceremony in person.

Mr Athor has blamed the SPLA for attacking his forces, but said that he was open to new talks.

"If the other side is willing, we can continue talks but if they are not willing, then I would say this is the end of the peace agreement between us and them," he told the Reuters news agency via satellite phone on Thursday.

The BBC's Peter Martell in the southern capital, Juba, says the fighting is another sign of the challenges the south faces in bringing its people together and improving security.

The week-long referendum vote itself passed off peacefully, but tension remains high in parts of the oil-rich area which straddles the north and south. Fifty-four people were killed over the weekend in fighting in Southern Sudan's Upper Nile state.

Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir has promised to accept the outcome of the referendum.

On Wednesday, Sudan's UN ambassador hinted that the International Criminal Court arrest warrant for Mr Bashir should be withdrawn as a "reward" for him accepting the south's independence.

Mr Bashir is accused of links to war crimes in a separate conflict in the western region of Darfur.

Southern Sudan is to become the world's newest independent state on 9 July.

Show regions

The great divide across Sudan is visible even from space, as this Nasa satellite image shows. The northern states are a blanket of desert, broken only by the fertile Nile corridor. Southern Sudan is covered by green swathes of grassland, swamps and tropical forest.

Sudan's arid northern regions are home mainly to Arabic-speaking Muslims. But in Southern Sudan there is no dominant culture. The Dinkas and the Nuers are the largest of more than 200 ethnic groups, each with its own traditional beliefs and languages.

The health inequalities in Sudan are illustrated by infant mortality rates. In Southern Sudan, one in 10 children die before their first birthday. Whereas in the more developed northern states, such as Gezira and White Nile, half of those children would be expected to survive.

The gulf in water resources between north and south is stark. In Khartoum, River Nile, and Gezira states, two-thirds of people have access to piped drinking water and pit latrines. In the south, boreholes and unprotected wells are the main drinking sources. More than 80% of southerners have no toilet facilities whatsoever.

Throughout Sudan, access to primary school education is strongly linked to household earnings. In the poorest parts of the south, less than 1% of children finish primary school. Whereas in the wealthier north, up to 50% of children complete primary level education.

Conflict and poverty are the main causes of food insecurity in Sudan. The residents of war-affected Darfur and Southern Sudan are still greatly dependent on food aid. Far more than in northern states, which tend to be wealthier, more urbanised and less reliant on agriculture.

Sudan exports billions of dollars of oil per year. Southern states produce more than 80% of it, but receive only 50% of the revenue, exacerbating tensions with the north. The oil-rich border region of Abyei is to hold a separate vote on whether to join the north or the south.

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