23 Aug 2011

The war is not over in Tripoli yet

Chief Correspondent

Alex Thomson reports from one of the main roads into Tripoli, where some areas are peaceful but there are still pockets of fierce fighting.

I’m standing now on one of the main junctions leading towards the capital and it’s a curious mix. In the foreground, a father takes pictures of his five children as they play on an abandoned government tank. And yet every few minutes the honking of car horns and shouts of “Allahu Akbar”, as convoys of fighters and ammunition trucks roll towards the capital.

This is the pattern of life here, where areas recently taken by rebels live in this curious state – it is certainly peaceful here but it is certainly not normal.

Rebels themselves say they are concentrating their actions in the Bab al-Aziziya district of Tripoli. This is the central area in which Colonel Gaddafi’s large and well fortified bunker is now the focus of fighting. But the war is not over in Tripoli as it is also not over in other areas of Libya.

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Take Sirte for instance – Colonel Gaddafi’s hometown – a number of heavy missiles, possibly Scuds, were fired from this area into the still rebel-held town of Misrata earlier in the day. Fighting continues in those areas as it does a long way further east, near the oil town of Brega.

Colonel Gaddafi’s son Saif , who so dramatically reappeared yesterday, said that his father is alive and well and further he is in Tripoli or possibly Sirte. His location is known only to those closest to him.

Follow Alex Thomson on Twitter: @alextomo