Where is Gaddafi?

Libyan rebels have taken over control of most of the capital city of Tripoli but a fierce battle is still raging on around Col Gaddafi's compound between soldiers loyal to Gaddafi and the rebels. Three of Gaddafi’s sons are in custody as rebels say they hold 95 per cent of Libya’s capital. President Obama says it is clear that Gaddafi’s rule is over, but the fight for Libya is not. No one knows the whereabouts of longtime Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi's, but many Libyans believe he is still in the country.

Burning images of Gaddafi

Armed rebels celebrate victory

 U.S.Defense Department spokesman Col. Dave Lapan said officials believe Qaddafi is still in the country. "We do not have any information that he has left the country." After the rebel's
lightning advance on Tripoli, world leaders urged Qaddafi to recognise his time is over in Libya. Many Libyans believe it is "only a matter of time" before the besieged ruler is history. The rebels have taken over the city. They have clearly taking over the institutions and have seized control of state television. Amid celebrations among rebels and sympathisers on the streets of Tripoli, it is very clear that the rebels are winning.

The rebels

Fighting for the Square

People around the world welcomed the rebel’s success with relieve but today’s triumph may prove to be the easiest part in the rebels' quest to reshape Libya's political landscape. Uniting to confront Qaddafi militarily is one thing, said former US diplomat Nicholas Burns but "it's much more difficult to organise effective government operation throughout a very vast country.”

Ready for battle

"The rebels have to unite the country politically, provide government services to a country that hasn't had it. That's a tall order. We can expect this to be chaotic, uneven and unfortunately violent as remaining Qaddafi supporters struggle against this rebel government," said Burns, who served as undersecretary of state during the George W. Bush administration and is now a professor at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Libyan women celebrate

Asked whether he believes the al Qaida terrorist network will gain new footing during a power vacuum in Libya, Feltman said the first step in any post-Qaddafi setting is to "prevent some kind of cycle where people act out their own retributions," as happened when Saddam Hussein fell in Iraq.

"A lot of that sectarian mix that existed in Saddam Hussein's Iraq doesn't exisit here in Libya," Feltman said. He also said that "the overwhelming vision that we are hearing" from people across Libya is that "they want a Libya that is moderate, that is secular."

President Obama has called to a peaceful transition.