Rebels still battling for control of
Tripoli aided by British and French "advisers" DEBKAfile Special Report
August 22, 2011
The battle for TripoliFor the first time in the six-month war against Muammar Qaddafi's regime,
NATO troops, despite denials, are taking part in the fighting on the ground as British and French "military advisers" members of special operations units help Libyan rebels fight for control of the Libyan capital Tripoli. This contest is evolving into a war of intelligence, as debkafile's military sources disclose.
Qaddafi's counter-offensive aims at separating the Western troops from the small numbers of rebels, no more than 2,500-3,000.
Sources close to that contest estimate that if Qaddafi's roughly 5,000 loyal troops in the capital can achieve this goal, they will have enhanced their chances of reversing the tide of battle.
Those sources refute some media claims that the rebels already control 80-90 percent of Tripoli and say they were left with no more than one third of the city by Monday night, Aug. 22. In the day and a night since they entered the capital, Qaddafi's 12th Division has recovered some of the territory the rebels captured in their first push.
US President Barack Obama, in his statement Monday night, accurately diagnosed the Libyan situation as "fluid and uncertain" - although, he said, "Qaddafi's regime is coming to an end and passing into the hands of the people." Fierce fighting is still going on, he said, and there are "reports of regime elements threatening to continue fighting." The president called on Qaddafi "to stop the bloodshed by calling on them to lay down arms for the sake of Libya" and "relinquish power without delay."
Obama's words somewhat cooled the exuberant assertions by NATO and some of its members that Qaddafi is no longer a force to be reckoned with and the war all but over.
His words also aimed at moderating expectations of its successor. He urged the formation of a "peaceful, inclusive and just coalition" of forces and warned that "justice would come from conciliation, not violence."
Heavy fighting was raging Monday, Aug. 22, around Muammar Qaddafi's Bab al-Aziziya compound in Tripoli less than a day after Libyan rebels captured most of the capital unopposed and Muammar Qaddafi's regime in the capital was written off. His son Khamis led a tank force fighting from positions taken up at the compound and Tripoli port, signaling that the forces loyal to the Libyan ruler and his family were ready to fight for their survival and Qaddafi was not ready to relinquish power as demanded by US President Barack Obama Sunday night.
For the last two weeks, Khamis, the most talented general of Qaddafi's sons, avoided using tanks outside Tripoli for fear of losing them in NATO air strikes, debkafile's military sources report.
The rebels heading into Tripoli from Zawiya Sunday were unopposed by obstacles.
However, Monday, when defeat looked the regime and family in the face, Khamis switched tactics.
He reckoned that the tanks would be safe from NATO attack among the civilians crowding the city streets.
Another Qaddafi son, Saif al-Islam, was apparently detained by the rebels who are negotiating his handover for trial to the International Criminal Court on charges of crimes against humanity. However, another son, Al-Mu'tasim Billah al-Qaddafi, may be expected to join Khamis on the battlefield quite soon.
Al-Mu'tasim, who is also highly regarded as an operational commander, heads Libya's Special Forces Brigades and the regime's intelligence arm. His whereabouts like those of his father are unknown. The Libyan has not been seen lately although Sunday, he sent audio messages to state television calling on all Libyans to rally and save Tripoli from the same fate as Baghdad.
Saif al Islam, a non-military figure, was never his father's choice for successor. His fluent English language skills and the knowledge of Western ways and media he acquired during years spent in Britain made him a useful spokesman for the regime in the six months of the war.
Saif took advantage of the limelight to pose as Qaddafi's Number Two.
However, Khamis and Al-Mu'tasim ran the all-important military side of Qaddafi's campaign against the NATO-backed rebellion. More than once, they saved the family from near- disaster - notably against concerted US- British-French Odyssey Dawn air operation against the ruler's power centers in Tripoli on March 19.
According to some of debkafile's sources, the embattled ruler may have decided to throw Saif al-Islam to the wolves to distract NATO commanders' notice from the two sons leading his fight for survival on the battlefield.
Monday, British Prime Minister David Cameron was concerned to move on towards establishing a new government in Tripoli when he said, "The regime is falling apart" and "Our task now is to do all we can to protect the will of the Libyan people."
Qaddafi and his sons are now fighting to demonstrate that although the rebels have seized most of Tripoli, there is still no power vacuum waiting for them to step into.
Through Monday, more rebel columns headed towards Tripoli in pick-up trucks with heavy machine-guns mounted at the back. Plenty more fighting and bloodshed is still ahead of Libya before the crisis is over
After midnight Sunday, Aug. 21, debkafile reported: The Qaddafi regime falls in Tripoli
