Operation Mermaid Dawn, the Battle to Liberate Tripoli is Joined

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Tripoli has been liberated!
ICC prosecutor's spokeswomen says has confirmation Qaddafi has been detained.
Celebrations across most Libyan cities now.
Freedom Fighters are in control of all parts Tripoli except Bab Al-Azizyah
Two South African planes are reported to be on tarmac in Tripoli Airport.
AU says Angola or Zimbabwe may be offering Mummar Qaddafi a place to go.

TNC: Saif Qaddafi and Mohammed Qaddafi captured. People Celebrating across Libya! 3:03 pst

LibyaNewDay
Snipers reported in central #Tripoli near Bab al Aziziya #Libya 5:16 pst

N_Benghazi ?
Neighborhoods near Bab AlAziziyah are facing serious shelling and gunfire right now, residents are out defending. #Tripoli #Libya 5:16pst

lLibyaNewDay
BREAKING CONFIRMED:- the #Libyana mobile phone network compound in ALSHAT BOULEVARD is totally under FF control #Libya #Tripoli #MermadDawn
4:55pst Favorite Retweet Reply

Libya 7orra
by N_Benghazi
BREAKING CONFIRMED #SoogJumaa:- 3 truckloads of dead subsaharan african mercenaries in SoogJumaa overnight 4:52 pst

EndTyranny101 Ahmed Sanalla
#Gaddafi forces are attacking #Bin #Nabi mosque in #Alsaream street...Gaddafi now shelling mosques!! #Tripoli #Libya 4:52

Opposition forces have taken Al-Mayah, a town 20miles from Tripoli.

This is a live interview with Zeina from the frontline.
August 21, 4:30 pst Ibriham Moussa, Qaddafi's PR guy, just complete a press conference. They're done. Talking about everything in past tence, blaming NATO, saying thousands will defend Tripoli. I doubt Qaddafi is still on Tripoli. Meanwhile at this hour three neighborhood are reported to be in complete control of the freedom fighters.

Tripoli: 31 soldiers killed pro-Gaddafi Published with Reuters le 21/08/2011 The fighting that took place last night in Tripoli have been 31 deaths among the soldiers loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, reports the TV station al-Jazeera. The chain added that 42 other soldiers were captured by the rebels in Libya. Weapons fired and explosions echoed through the streets of the city since last night while the insurgents say they are ready to launch the final assault against the Libyan leader to power for 41 years.

eyewitness for the bombarding of #Tripoli with missiles by #Gaddafi (sorry in Arabic)

Gaddafi Condemns Rebels As Tripoli Faces Siege Posted in August 2011, News | 07:04 (TRIPOLI, Libya) — Libyan rebels said they launched their first attack on Tripoli in coordination with NATO late Saturday, and Associated Press reporters heard unusually heavy gunfire and explosions in the capital. The fighting erupted just hours after opposition fighters captured the key city of Zawiyah nearby. Gunbattles and mortar rounds were heard clearly at the hotel where foreign correspondents stay in Tripoli. NATO aircraft made heavy bombing runs after nightfall, with loud explosions booming across the city. “We planned this operation with NATO, our Arab associates and our rebel fighters in Tripoli with commanders in Benghazi,” Mustafa Abdel-Jalil, the head of the rebel leadership council, told the Arab satellite channel Al-Jazeera. Benghazi, hundreds of miles east of Tripoli, is the rebels’ de facto capital.(See pictures of the battle for Libya.)

@AnonymousSyria tweeted 11:06 pst A must-see, Libyan anchor holding a gun threatening anyone who might think of taking control of state TV #Libya #Feb17 Videos Posted by Tripoli Our Capital

Bashir Sewehli, a Libyan activist, tells us Souq al-Jomaa neighbourhood in #Tripoli is controlled by the opposition #Libya 10:14 pst

Guma El-Gamaty FF from 3 axis outside tripoli will reach outskirts of the capital soon and trigger a massive deserting by many who r now on Gadhafi side!! 9:40pst via Twitter for BlackBerry®

Abdul Helal According 2 #gergaresh resident abt 90% of #Gaddafi F hve been cleared over night frm #gergarish #Tripoli east #Jansour using gelatina bombs 9:36pst via Twitter for iPhone

Shortly after nightfall in Tripoli Saturday night the Libyan liberation army encircling Tripoli combined with an uprising by freedom fighters and protesters inside of the city and NATO air support in Operation Mermaid Dawn, the final battle to liberate Tripoli and with it, the entire country of Libya from Qaddafi's 42 year dictatorship. Many people are dying tonight as Qaddafi forces are shelling parts of Tripoli at the same time DSL is coming back on in other sections. Both Mummar and Saif Qaddafi have been on Libyan State TV tonight trying to whole back the tide.

Watch this diary over the next 48 hours for frequent updates on this fast moving story.

These DailyKos diaries are also covering these events: Witnessing Revolution #227: Battle of Tripoli or #MermaidDawn Witnessing Revolution Diary #228: Battle of Tripoli continues Witnessing Revolution Live Blog #229 - Libya Breaking: The Battle For Tripoli Has Begun. W/ Updates. "All Hell Has Broken Out in Tripoli." I will add stuff here only if it has net been covered in these other excellent blogs. and if you want to understand what is so revolting about Qaddafi see yesterday's dairy: Helter Skelter: Qaddafi's African Adventure At this hour 21 Aug 2011 00:42, Al Jazeera English is running this:

Libyan capital rocked by blasts and gunfire Sustained automatic gun fire and a series of explosions have rung out in Tripoli, reports in the Libyan capital said. Blasts and gunfire rocked Tripoli after the break of the dawn-to-dusk fast of Ramadan on Saturday and witnesses reported fighting in the eastern neighbourhoods of Souq al-Jomaa, Arada and Tajoura. A government spokesman had earlier said an attack on Tripoli by rebels seeking to depose Muammar Gaddafi had been "dealt with". ... Explosions also sounded in the same area as NATO aircraft carried out heavy bombing runs after nightfall.A senior official in the rebel National Transitional Council (NTC) said on Sunday that Tripoli operation was coordinated between opponents of Muammar Gaddafi in Tripoli and the rebels. "The zero hour has started. The rebels in Tripoli have risen up," said Abdel Hafiz Ghoga, vice-chairman of the NTC, based in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi. "There is coordination with the rebels in Tripoli. This was a pre-set plan. They've been preparing for a while. There's coordination with the rebels approaching from the east, west and south." Ghoga said NATO warplanes were launching raids to distract Gaddafi's forces. "The next hours are crucial. Many of their (pro-Gaddafi) brigades and their commanders have fled." He added. Operation Mermaid’ Colonel Fadlallah Haroun, a military commander in Benghazi, said the battles marked the beginning of Operation Mermaid - a nickname for Tripoli. He also said the assault was coordinated with NATO. Haroun told AP news agency that weapons were assembled and sent by tugboats to Tripoli on Friday night. "The fighters in Tripoli are rising up in two places at the moment - some are in the Tajoura neighbourhood and the other is near the Matiga (international) airport," he told Al-Jazeera. Tajoura has been known since the beginning of the uprising in February as the Tripoli neighborhood most strongly opposed to Muammar Gaddafi's regime. The head of the rebel's leadership council said they chose to start the assault on Tripoli on the 20th day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which fell on Saturday. The date marks the ancient Islamic Battle of Badr, when Muslims conquered the holy city of Mecca in A.D. 624. A representative for Tripoli on the rebel leadership council told the AP that rebels were surrounding almost every neighbourhood in the capital, and there was especially heavy fighting in Fashloum, Tajoura and Souq al-Jomaa. In Benghazi, thousands of Libyans celebrated in the main city square, shooting fireworks and guns into the air, and waving the rebel tricolor flag.

Click here for a list of my other dairies on Libya