Rebels overrun Gaddafi compound

The BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes in Tripoli: "The city erupted in gunfire"

Libyan rebels have taken control of Col Muammar Gaddafi's Bab al-Aziziya compound in Tripoli, one of the final areas that remained under his control.

TV footage showed fighters breaking off the head of a statue of the Libyan leader and kicking it along the ground. They also seized items from his home.
It is not known if Col Gaddafi or any of his family are inside the compound.
Rebel leaders say they are in control of almost all of the capital, though there are still pockets of resistance.
Heavily armed fighters had streamed into the capital on Tuesday morning in dozens of pick-up trucks to take part in the attack on Bab al-Aziziya.

Hours later, they breached the perimeter wall and then quickly overran the compound.

The rebels were shown destroying statues - including the iconic golden hand crushing a US fighter jet - and firing guns in the air in celebration.
There were no obvious signs of resistance by Tuesday evening, despite reports that hundreds of Gaddafi loyalists had been tasked with guarding the compound.
The Bab al-Aziziya complex is reported to be connected by underground tunnels to various key locations across the city.
It houses military buildings, Col Gaddafi's main residence, a library and government offices.
The whereabouts of Col Gaddafi and members of his family are not clear.
The BBC's Rana Jawad in Tripoli says there is a real sense that this is the end of Col Gaddafi's rule, but the proper celebrations will not begin until he and his family are found.
There are still pockets of resistance in Tripoli near to the Hotel Rixos, where many foreign journalists are staying.
And the situation is unclear in the colonel's hometown of Sirte, which has been a stronghold of regime loyalists.
Reports said retreating government troops had been pouring back to Sirte, and rumours circulated suggesting that the colonel may have fled there.

''Next moves''

Early on Tuesday, his son Saif al-Islam spoke to journalists at the Rixos Hotel, hours after the rebels said he had been captured.

He insisted the government had "broken the backbone" of the rebel offensive and that his father's supporters were winning the battle.
But Western politicians, rebel leaders and the Nato military alliance dismissed his claims.
"A brief appearance at the dead of night doesn't indicate to me somebody who is in control of a country, or capital, or of anything much at all really," said Nato spokeswoman Oana Lungescu.
Meanwhile, the US state department said it was clear that the regime had almost collapsed.
Spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the US would seek to release between $1bn and $1.5bn (£600m and £900m) in frozen Libyan funds in the coming days, and hand the money to the rebel National Transitional Council (NTC).
Members of the NTC, which has so far been based in the eastern city of Benghazi, said they planned to fly to Tripoli on Wednesday to start work on forming a new government.

NTC chairman Mustafa Abdul Jalil also said all Gaddafi aides would face justice and fair criminal trials.

"I will stand trial for years I served as a minister in the Gaddafi government," he told a news conference in Benghazi.
He advised Libyans to be tolerant, saying they should "avoid taking matters into their own hands and... abide by court rulings".
The rebels swept into Tripoli at the weekend, but after a swift advance they met stiff resistance in a number of areas on Monday.
The uprising against Col Gaddafi's 41-year rule began in February. The rebels held the east of the country and pockets of the west, before making their push towards the capital at the weekend.
Nato air strikes have been targeting Col Gaddafi's forces, acting on a UN mandate to protect civilians.

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