Gadhafi Says He’ll Stay in Tripoli ‘Until the End’
Meanwhile, hundreds of rebels push to the western outskirts of Tripoli
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Rebels begin fighting in Tripoli (NBC Nightly News, Aug. 20, 2011) — NBC News can confirm that fighting has begun in at least three neighborhoods within Libya’s capital city in what might be embattled Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi’s last stand. NBC’s Richard Engel reports. (02:57)
The Associated Press and Reuters via MSNBC.com
August 21, 2011
TRIPOLI, Libya — Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi said Sunday he will stay in Tripoli “until the end” and called on his supporters around the country to help liberate the capital from a rebel offensive.
He said in an audio message played over state television he was “afraid that Tripoli will burn” and he said he would provide weapons to supporters to fight off the rebels.
Gadhafi’s comments came as hundreds of euphoric Libyan rebels pushed to the western outskirts of Tripoli without meeting any resistance after they overran a major military base that defends the capital on Sunday. The trappings of Gadhafi’s regime were crumbling fast, with opposition forces rising up from within his stronghold at the same time.
Associated Press reporters with the rebels said they reached the Tripoli suburb of Janzour around nightfall Sunday. They were greeted by civilians lining the streets and waving rebel flags. Hours earlier, the same rebel force of hundreds drove out elite forces led by Gadhafi’s son Khamis in a brief gunbattle. …
Inside Tripoli, there was a second day of widespread clashes between what the opposition called “sleeping cells” of rebels who are rising up and Gadhafi loyalists. There were also large anti-government protests. …
The rebels were chanting: “We are coming for you, frizz-head.” …
Rebels said Saturday that they had launched their first attack on Tripoli in coordination with NATO and gunbattles and mortar rounds rocked the city. NATO aircraft also made heavier than usual bombing runs after nightfall, with loud explosions booming across the city.
On Sunday, more heavy machine gun fire and explosions rang out across the capital with more clashes and protests.
Government minders in a hotel where foreign journalists have been staying in Tripoli have begun to arm themselves with weapons in anticipation of a rebel take over. The hotel manager said he had received calls from angry rebels threatening to charge the hotel to capture the government’s spokesman, Moussa Ibrahim.
Heavy gunfire was heard in the neighborhood around the Rixos hotel, and smoke was seen rising from a closeby building. …
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Related reports on this site
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Libyan rebels on the move toward Tripoli (NBC Nightly News, March 28, 2011) — After advancing toward Tripoli almost unchecked for two days, Libyan rebels are having to fight for territory in the desert outside Sirte, where Gadhafi’s troops are taking a stand. NBC’s Richard Engel reports. (03:29)
Gadhafi Kin Killed in Airstrike (April 30, 2011)
U.S. Troops to Fight in Libya? (April 7, 2011)
(Some) Boots on the Ground in Libya (March 30, 2011)
Barack Obama’s Libya Speech (March 28, 2011)
Libya Update (March 26, 2011)
Is Libya Military Action Constitutional? (March 22, 2011)
Gadhafi Suffers Heavy Losses (March 20, 2011)
Libya Air War Begins (March 19, 2011)
NATO Ultimatum to Gadhafi (March 18, 2011)
Libya No-Fly Zone, Airstrikes Imminent (March 17, 2011)
Libyan Rebels Advance on Tripoli (March 5, 2011)
Gadhafi Steers Libya to Civil War (Feb. 22, 2011)
Deadly Crackdown in Libya (Feb. 20, 2011)
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FROM THE ARCHIVES
One Year Ago — August 21, 2010
One year ago today, I reported that Israel denounced Iran’s fueling up of its first nuclear power plant, in Bushehr, as “totally unacceptable” and called for more international pressure to force Tehran to cease any uranium enrichment.
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Two Years Ago — August 21, 2009
Two years ago today, on August 21, 2009, IÂ reported that former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge claimed in a new book that he was pressured by other members of President George W. Bush’s Cabinet to raise the nation’s terror alert level just before the 2004 presidential election.
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Three Years Ago — August 21, 2008
Campaign Against Michele Bachmann: Day 38
Three years ago today, on August 21, 2008 — the 38th day of my 2008 campaign against incumbent U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann for the Republican nomination in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District — I announced the August 22 kick-off of a second walking tour, this time a 50-mile campaign swing from Foley in the east to Paynesville on the western boundary of the Sixth Congressional District. In line with my campaign focus on national security, I also featured a Newsweek interview with Gen. David Petraeus, in which the former U.S. commander in Iraq explained why vigilance was still needed in Iraq and why Afghanistan in some ways posed an even greater security dilemma for the United States.
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October 21st, 2011 at 8:04 am
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