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Libyan Rebels Ready Knockout Punch for Gadhafi
[An Nahar] Hardened fighters streamed Thursday into Tripoli as Libya's rebels sought to deliver a knockout punch to Moammar Qadaffy's
...whose instability has been an inspiration to dictators everywhere...
 diehards and, backed by NATO,
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all....
 to flush out the elusive strongman.

Rebel commanders said they were also readying fresh attempts to advance against Qadaffy's forces defending his hometown Sirte, 360 kilometers east of Tripoli and to break a siege of Zuwarah, a town to the west.

They were being supported in their hunt for the wily Qadaffy by NATO, which according to Britannia's Defense Minister Liam Fox is contributing intelligence and reconnaissance equipment.

An Agence La Belle France Presse news hound, meanwhile, discovered that French and British operatives are working with Libyan rebels as they press towards Sirte, amid reports British special forces SAS members were sent to Libya several weeks ago.

Leading the army of reinforcements into Tripoli were seasoned combatants from the city of Misrata, whose fellow fighters spearheaded the weekend assault that saw the Libyan capital swiftly overrun and Qadaffy's Bab al-Aziziya compound captured by Tuesday.

Rebel commanders said that while they control most of Tripoli, hot spots remain where sniper fire, rocket kabooms and heavy weaponry make life dangerous.

In an example of that, Tripoli's Corinthia Bab Africa Hotel, where numerous foreign journalists are based, came under attack on Thursday, apparently by Qadaffy snipers, but there were no reports of casualties.

"Heavy shooting is going on in central Tripoli just at the doorstep of our hotel. Street battle. Sniper fire. Hotel under gunfire attack," an AFP correspondent reported of the firefight, which lasted about 40 minutes.

The Corinthia is located a few hundred meters from the center of Tripoli's Old City, near the sea.

The rebels are also hell-bent on finding Qadaffy, so they can proclaim final victory in an uprising that began six months ago and was all but crushed by Qadaffy's forces before NATO warplanes gave crucial air support to the rebels.

Rebel leaders say they want to put Qadaffy on trial in Libya even though he also faces charges of crimes against humanity along with his son Seif al-Islam and spymaster Abdullah al-Senoussi at the International Criminal Court
... where Milosevich died of old age before being convicted ....
The rebel National Transitional Council (NTC) on Wednesday offered a $1.7 million reward for the capture of the elusive strongman, dead or alive.

"The NTC supports the initiative of businessmen who are offering two million dinars for the capture of Moammar Qadaffy, dead or alive," NTC chief Mustafa Abdul Jalil said in the rebel capital Benghazi.

Abdul Jalil also offered amnesty to "members of (Qadaffy's) close circle who kill him or capture him."

The 69-year-old Qadaffy has not been seen in public for weeks and despite losing control of the oil-rich North African country he ruled with an iron first for 42 years is still managing to broadcast messages urging Libyans to drive out the "rats" -- as he disparagingly calls the rebels.

He also claimed on Wednesday to have walked incognito on the streets of Tripoli without being recognized.

In the oil refinery town of Zuwaytina, the new eastern front about 150 kilometers southwest of the opposition's capital Benghazi, an AFP news hound saw French and British operatives working with Libyan rebels .

They are equipped with telecommunications equipment and housed in two shipping containers, within walking distance of the headquarters of Fawzi Bukatif, commander of the eastern front.

Britannia's Defense Minister Liam Fox told Sky news on Thursday that NATO is providing "intelligence and reconnaissance assets to the NTC to help them track down Colonel Qadaffy and other remnants of the regime."

Fox however declined to comment on reports that Britannia's SAS special forces were working with the Libyan rebels to track down Qadaffy.

The Daily Telegraph newspaper, quoting defense sources, said SAS members were sent to Libya several weeks ago and played a key role in coordinating the battle for Tripoli, which fell into rebel hands on Sunday.

In Tripoli's souk Al-Jumaa, the arrival of at least 60 Misrata rebels on Wednesday sparked joy among residents.

"We are very happy. Misrata's soldiers can win anything," said Taha Abu Zeid. "They could even win Afghanistan."

They were joined by rebels from as far west as the Nafusa mountains and as far east as Benghazi, as field commanders vowed to bring the capital under full rebel control.

Fighting is concentrated along the perimeters of Bab al-Aziziya and the neighboring Abu Slim district, where Qadaffy reportedly released, armed and paid former prisoners to fight for his regime, although the streets were quiet Thursday after heavy fighting
... as opposed to the more usual light or sporadic fighting...
in the area the previous day.

Rebel commanders said Qadaffy forces were pounding cut-throats holding the center of Zuwarah, west of Tripoli, adding that they needed reinforcements to help them break the siege.

Rebels advancing towards Sirte were also blocked Wednesday in the town of Bin Jawad as loyalists kept up stiff resistance.

"Qadaffy's forces are still fighting, we are surprised. We thought they would surrender with the fall of Tripoli," rebel commander Fawzi Bukatif said.

Four Italian journalists kidnapped in Libya on Wednesday by forces loyal to Moammar Qadaffy, have been freed, the foreign ministry said in Rome.

The four were liberated around 0930 GMT on Thursday, according to a ministry front man, who said the journalists "are now in a hotel with other Italian journalists" and "are well."

The NTC's number two leader, Mahmoud Jibril, meanwhile called for "urgent" financial help at a presser with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi
...current Italian prime minister, known for his plain (for a European politician) speaking and his liking for hookers a third his age or less...
 in Milan on Thursday.

"This is an urgent call upon our friends," Jibril said, adding the "biggest disabling element" for the NTC "would be the failure to deliver services and salaries" in the post-Qadaffy period.

The NTC had in Doha on Wednesday sought five billion dollars in emergency aid from frozen assets at a meeting with foreign representatives from the Libya contact group.

The sum was twice that announced on Tuesday by Jibril.

But at the United Nations
...an idea whose time has gone...
 South Africa refused to lift a block on the United States unfreezing 1.5 billion dollars of Libyan assets to buy humanitarian aid, setting up a diplomatic showdown at the Security Council.

South Africa insisted the council wait for the African Union
...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful...
 to decide whether to recognize the NTC at a summit Thursday before approving the move.
Posted by: Fred 2011-08-26
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=328652