Libyan rebels storm seat of Gaddafi's power

Hundreds of Libyan rebels stormed Muammar Gaddafi's compound Tuesday, charging wildly through the symbolic heart of the crumbling regime as they killed loyalist troops, looted armories and knocked the head off a statue of the besieged dictator. But they found no sign of the man himself.

The storming of Bab Al-Aziziya, long the nexus of Gaddafi's power, marked the effective collapse of his 42-year-old regime. But with Gaddafi and his powerful sons still unaccounted for — and gunbattles flaring across the nervous city — the fighters cannot declare victory.

Hours after the battle erupted, a pro-Gaddafi TV channel quoted the Libyan leader as saying he retreated from his Tripoli compound in a "tactical move" after 64 NATO airstrikes turned it to rubble. Al-Rai TV said Wednesday it would air the comments in full and reported an excerpt in which Gadhafi vowed his forces would resist "the aggression with all strength" until either victory or death.

His government's chief spokesman also managed to get word out in a phone interview with the same station, promising "we will be back to take Tripoli back."

The rebel force entered the compound after fighting for five hours with Gaddafi loyalists outside, using mortars, heavy machine guns and anti-aircraft guns. They killed some of those who defended the compound and hauled off thousands of rifles, crates of weapons and trucks with guns mounted on the back in a frenzy of looting.

"We're looking for Gaddafi now. We have to find him now," said Sohaib Nefati, a rebel sitting against a wall with a Kalashnikov rifle.

Abdel-Aziz Shafiya, a 19-year-old rebel dressed in camouflage with a rocket-propelled grenade slung over one shoulder and a Kalashnikov over the other, said the rebels believed Gaddafi was inside the compound but hiding underground.

The atmosphere in the compound was a mix of joyful celebration and tension. The air was thick with smoke from the battles, and the boom of mortars and the crackle of gunfire was constant. Rebels chanted "Allahu akbar" or "God is great" and on loudspeakers they cried: "Al-Hamdullilah," or "Thank God."

As the fighters stormed in, they captured a guard at the gates and threw him to the ground, slamming rifle butts into his back. A hostile crowd gathered around, punching and kicking him until one rebel stepped in, stood over him and kept the crowd at bay. Inside the walls, a few bodies of Gadhafi fighters — one with a gaping head wound from a gunshot — were sprawled on the ground.

Several young men wrenched the head from a statue of Gaddafi and kicked it around. One lifted it above his head while his jubilant comrades danced and yelled around him. Fighters with long beards hugged each other and flashed the "V'' for victory sign. Others carried injured rebels to ambulances.

A fighter climbed atop the iconic statue of a huge golden fist clenching a model of an American warplane and shot his machine gun in the air in celebration. The statue stands outside a building that was once Gadhafi's home, preserved with the pockmarks of an American bombing in 1986 as a symbol of his defiance.

Gaddafi delivered many fiery speeches from the balcony of that house, railing against the West. It was there that he appeared on television six months ago, at the beginning of the uprising, mocking his opponents and saying his supporters would "purify Libya inch by inch, house by house, alley by alley."

Bab al-Aziziya has since been pummeled many times over by NATO bombings in the air campaign against the regime that began in March.

In Wednesday's TV interviews, Gaddafi and government spokesman Ibrahim called the withdrawal from the compound strategic.

He claimed Gaddafi's forces still controlled 80 percent of the capital, which he said was a "death trap" and "ticking time bomb" for the rebels.

Thousands of rebels converged on the compound after it was breached, snatching ammunition and arms from depots inside. They found brand-new rifles still in their paper wrappings.

Scuffles broke out among rebels pushing and shoving to get inside two white buildings where the rifles, machine guns and handguns are stored. They came out drenched in sweat from the struggles.

One fighter gleefully blasted rocket-propelled grenades over the compound's eastern wall, with little idea about what was happening on the other side.

Gadhafi has a famous penchant for Bedouin-style tents, meant to symbolize his roots as a simple desert dweller. He received guests in the tents inside Bab al-Aziziya.

The storming of the compound was a new high for the rebels in what has been an emotional roller coaster since they moved into Tripoli on Sunday night. It began with euphoria and claims that they had taken over most of the city with little resistance. The first night they partied in Green Square, a major symbol of the regime where Gadhafi supporters had held almost nightly rallies throughout the uprising. And it seemed Gaddafi rule was teetering on the brink of collapse.

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