Gadhafi calls on Libyans to kill rebels

A regime spokesman said Gadhafi is safely in hiding and leading the battle against the rebels.

Reporters on the scene of the battle in the Abu Salim neighbourhood said rebels were hammering at least 10 buildings sheltering Gadhafi loyalists with anti-aircraft guns. There were huge explosions, and the air was clogged with smoke. At least three of the buildings were burning.

“They are holding at least 10 tall buildings. They have heavy weaponry, maybe even a tank,” Mohammed Karami, a rebel involved in the battle, said of the Gadhafi loyalists.
Mahmoud Bakoush, a rebel commander at the site, said there were rumours that one of Gadhafi’s sons might be in the buildings, but they are unconfirmed.

“Don’t leave Tripoli for the rats. Fight them, fight them, and kill them,” Gadhafi said in audio message broadcast on Al-Arabiya television. “It is the time for martyrdom or victory,” he said, calling tribes outside the capital “to continue their march to Tripoli”. He said imams in mosques should call for youths to rise up “for jihad”.

He warned that the rebels will enter people’s homes and rape their women. “They will enter your houses and deprive you of your honour,” he said.

Gadhafi spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said the longtime dictator was in Libya and his morale was high. Gadhafi “is indeed leading the battle for our freedom and independence,” said Ibrahim.