Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, center, with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, right, and his Yemeni counterpart Ali Abdullah Saleh, left, pose during a 2010 group picture with Arab and African leaders during the second Afro-Arab summit in Sirte, Libya. As rebels swarmed into Tripoli, Libya, and Gadhafi’s son and one-time heir apparent Seif al-Islam was arrested, Gadhafi’s rule was all but over, Western officials say.By KARIN LAUB and BEN HUBBARD
Associated Press
TRIPOLI, Libya – Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi was nowhere to be found Monday as his 42-year rule teetered on the brink of collapse.
Months of NATO airstrikes have left his Bab al-Aziziya compound in Tripoli largely demolished. Most of his security forces fled or surrendered when rebel forces rolled into the capital Sunday night and took control of most of the city. Three of his sons were under arrest.
A mood of joy mixed with trepidation settled over the capital, with the rebels still fighting pockets of fierce resistance from regime loyalists firing mortars and anti-aircraft guns. Rebel spokesman Mohammed Abdel-Rahman, who was in Tripoli, said the “danger is still there” as long as Gadhafi remains on the run.