Missed him by minutes: How rebels and special forces came close to snaring Gaddafi
- Rebels raid safe-house where Gaddafi 'stayed overnight'
- Gaddafi: 'Don’t leave Tripoli for the rats'
- Libyan businessman offers £1m reward for his capture
- Rebels force entry into leader's maze of underground tunnels
- UN to unfreeze £1bn in frozen Libyan assets for aid
- Rebel NTC to move to Tripoli to facilitate takeover
Last updated at 1:14 AM on 26th August 2011
Rebel Libyan commandos and Nato special forces missed capturing Colonel Gaddafi ‘by hours’ at a safe house in Tripoli after his compound home was stormed.
Details of the raid on an unassuming private home in the Libyan capital at 10am on Wednesday emerged from rebel officials who claimed there was ‘credible evidence’ the ousted dictator had been there for at least one night.
Apparent proof that until 48 hours ago or even less the 69-year-old was still in Tripoli intensified the manhunt in the city which is being spearheaded by the SAS and French special forces.
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Wanted! Poster advertising £1million bounty if Libyan dictator Gaddafi is caught
A rebel fighter is armed and ready for battle in Tripoli yesterday. Special forces missed snaring Gaddafi by minutes this week
Soldiers from 22 Regiment SAS, dressed in Arab clothing and carrying the same weapons as rebels, have been in Libya for months and have now been ordered to target Gaddafi and his sons as their priority.
As the hunt went, on a new rallying call from Gaddafi was broadcast on TV.
‘Don’t leave Tripoli for the rats,’ he implored citizens. ‘Fight them, fight them, and kill them. Tripoli is for you, not for those who rely on Nato.’
On the trail of the tyrant: A rebel fighter holding an AK47 climbs down ladders into a bunker under Gaddafi's main compound in Bab Al-Aziziya in Tripoli yesterday
Into the darkness: Rebels shine torches down the tunnel as they go on the hunt for Gaddafi in his labyrinth
The near-miss followed the offer by a Libyan businessman of a £1million reward for the man who ruled his country brutally for 42 years, and the promise of an amnesty by rebel leaders to anyone who captured or killed him.
Early yesterday special forces guided RAF Tornado GR4 Nato warplanes in to attack and destroy three mobile Scud missile launchers near Gaddafi’s birthplace of Sirte, 250 miles east of Tripoli, where fierce fighting raged throughout the day.
Many believed that Gaddafi had fled to the port, whose loyalty he bought by funneling hundreds of millions of pounds into its development from a small village into a second capital with government departments, modern infrastructure and a large barracks.
An overturned golf buggy that Gaddafi would have once used to get around the tunnels is seen, and right, he rides through the grounds of his compound in a similar cart
A Libyan rebel fighter kicks down a door during a house search for snipers in the final push to flush out Gaddafi's forces in Abu Slim in Tripoli
A Libyan rebel walks past the bodies of loyalist fighters lying dead at the south entrance of the Bab al-Aziziya compound in Tripoli
Bloodied bodies of loyalist fighters lie dead at the south entrance of the Bab al-Aziziya compound in Tripoli yesterday
Opposition leaders have said they were trying to negotiate a peaceful surrender of the town, but many there owe their power and wealth to Gaddafi and officials believe they will not ‘give up on him’ while he remains free.
In Tripoli, rebel troops laid siege to a network of ten apartment blocks in the Abu Salim neighbourhood throughout the day, sparking a sustained firefight with loyalists, in the belief that Gaddafi and his sons may have been inside.
More than 1,000 heavily armed rebels backed by anti-aircraft guns surrounded the eight-storey buildings in one of the city’s few areas still loyal to the tyrant, where snipers were mixed in with civilians.
Medics treat a rebel fighter shot by a sniper during the final push to flush out Gaddafi's forces in Abu Slim yesterday
Last night at least three of the buildings were ablaze as fighting raged into the night, but there was no sign of the missing leader or his family.
It was typical of the rumours over the whereabouts of Gaddafi that consumed the city yesterday as rebels struggled to take complete control of Tripoli four days after storming into the city.
The bullet-ridden bodies of nine Gaddafi soldiers lay on the ground in Abu Salim and a few bodies of rebel soldiers were wrapped in blankets nearby. The sewers ran red with blood.
Hidden: Rebel fighters enter one of the secret vaults in the main compound in Bab Al-Aziziya in Tripoli, Libya
Libyan rebels seize boxes of ammunition hidden underground by Gaddafi's forces in the al-Maser forest in southern TripoliDeafening explosions of mortars and the whistle of sniper fire filled the air clogged with smoke from burning buildings and weapons fire. Amid the din, the call to prayer wafted out from neighbourhood mosques.
Al Jazeera reported last night the headquarters of Libya's intelligence services was in rebel hands and is full of confidential documents on the secretive regime which could take weeks to sift through.
Regime spokesman Moussa Ibrahim claimed that Gaddafi personally ‘is leading the battle for our freedom and independence’.
He said: ‘All of the leader’s family are fine,’ adding that top military and political aides remained with him.
Defence Secretary Liam Fox confirmed that Nato is providing intelligence and reconnaissance to help track down Gaddafi but refused to comment on whether the SAS is leading the hunt.
Royal Navy warships and RAF planes are on standby to ensure that vital aid shipments reach Libya amid growing concerns of a humanitarian crisis.
Rebel fighters search a room in the bunker of the main Gaddafi compound - row of phones are seen on a desk
Where is he? Rebels search a bed in a bunker under the main compound
Military chiefs have orders to intervene to make sure food, medical supplies and clothes get to the tens of thousands displaced by the conflict.
Hospitals in Tripoli, in particular, urgently require life-saving drugs, oxygen and other equipment to treat civilians and combatants grievously injured in fierce clashes on the capital’s streets.
Shipments of medical supplies are set to head towards Tripoli from the Tunisian border. A RAF source said: ‘If a shipment looks like it could be intercepted by pro-Gaddafi forces, then we are on standby to deal with that.’
Last night, it was revealed that the UN is set to unfreeze £1bn in frozen Libyan assets to help with immediate humanitarian needs.
The US and South Africa struck a deal after the Transitional National Council (NTC) said it needed at least £3bn to pay state salaries, maintain vital services and repair critical oil facilities.
Council diplomats said the agreement would enable the funds to be released without a UN Security Council vote on a US draft resolution that Washington submitted to the council on Wednesday.
Reports emerged yesterday that rebels had discovered huge stock piles of fuel, food and medicine horded by Gaddafi - including enough food to feed a city of four million people for a year - twice the size of Tripoli.
A Libyan man loots an exercise bike, a child's bikes and other goods from the Bab al-Aziziya compound yesterday
Stocking up: Libyan rebels loot carpets and cuddly toys from Gaddafi's compound
In addition, a huge ammunition dump was discovered in the grounds of the Rixos hotel in Tripoli and in a forest in the south of the city, which meant rebels were able to arm themselves with at least six deep pits full of bullets, bombs and rockets.
Meanwhile, rebels said the leadership of the Libyan National Transitional Council had officially moved from the rebel stronghold of Benghazi to Tripoli to begin facilitating the takeover of power.
Yesterday rebel gunmen forced their way into Gaddafi's maze of tunnels under Tripoli in the grounds of the dictator's compound.
There they found a labyrinth of air conditioned tunnels leading into the darkness. Along the route was a bunker containing food supplies, beds and gas masks.
Hunt for Gaddafi: Smoke rises above buildings following a fight at Souk Bouslim, east of Tripoli, as rebels closed in on a building they believed Gaddafi was hiding inside
They believe that Gaddafi had used the bunker at some point during the conflict as he plotted his next moves.
Carrying AK47s, the rebels were shown on Al Jazeera moving cautiously through the high tunnels. They opened heavy doors along the way and came across dozens of vents.
FROM MANCHESTER TO TRIPOLI
Mohammed Said, 18, a student from Manchester has returned to his homeland to help fight - but has to return to college in five days.
Armed with an AK47 he told Radio 4: 'It's as dangerous as it gets. I've seen death maybe a million times up until now. I almost lost my finger.
'I have hated war and the sound of guns but it's what Gaddafi has made us do. I hate it.'
He said he plans to return home to finish his degree before coming back to Libya and helping to re-build his homeland.
He said: 'Hopefully in five years things might be back to normal.'
But with heavy fighting above ground and fears of booby traps and ambushes inside the tunnels, they were unable to go any further.
Gaddafi's escape from his compound is likely to have been through the network of tunnels.
Records from the 1980s, when a paranoid Gaddafi was locked in standoffs with the U.S., suggest that 2,000 miles of underground mazes stretch under Tripoli and beyond into the desert.
The multi-billion pound project, which may have been carried out by western firms, came at a time when Libya was developing nuclear weapons.
Heavily-fortified entrances to the nuclear-proof vaults are concealed and along the route there are further barriers and booby traps.
The dictator is believed to have most recently used wide tunnels below his 1.5 mile wide compound to travel in armoured vehicles with his family - including son Saif and daughter Aisha - along with his generals, aides and confidants.
Weapons at the ready: Libyan rebel fighters arrive at the Abu Slim area as they hunt the dictator and his sons
On the trail of the rat: Rebels and a TV reporter break into entrance to an underground bunker inside Gaddafi's compound, but the dictator has already fled
Gaddafi's son Saif is believed to have travelled some two miles underground in a white limo from the compound to the hotel when he unexpectedly appeared there on Sunday evening.
Two tunnels are believed to come up at the Mitiga Airport four miles away and at ports on the Tripoli coast. From there Gaddafi could reach safe-havens, however, all known transport routes are being guarded by rebels.
The tunnels are believed to be so long that they could come up directly at Sirte or Sabha. Alternatively they may surface in the desert, from where Gaddafi could travel incognito by jeep, jet, helicopter or even camel to a region where he has support.
Gaddafi could have fled south across the Sahara desert towards his ancestral home of Sabha where the Gaddafi clan originate from. Supporters from Sabha's mountain towns and dunes would provide shelter.
From Sabha the dictator could flee to Algeria to the west, or Chad, Niger or Mali to the south where he has support.
Cautious: A rebel clutches his AK47 as he moves cautiously through Gaddafi's underground tunnel. The labyrinth is likely to be lined with booby traps
Preparing for combat: A rebel tries on one of the gas masks that were found in one of the underground bunkers. Food supplies and beds were also discovered
Explosions: Libyan rebels drive in a pick-up truck loaded with rocket launchers inside Gaddafi's Bab Al-Aziziya compound in Tripoli
Heated: Rebels dodge bullets as smoke rises around them during a gun fight inside Gaddafi's compound. Snipers are defending buildings there to prevent access to the tunnels
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