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| Libyans celebrate end of Gaddafi era |
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 Libya's opposition leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil has announced the end of the Gaddafi era, while sporadic fighting continued across the capital, Tripoli.Fighting and gun battles erupted in parts of Tripoli on Monday after tanks left Bab al-Azizyah, Muammar Gaddafi's compound, to confront the rebel assault that gained control of much of the capital in a battle on Sunday night. Many of the streets in the center of the city -- where anti-government supporters had celebrated hours earlier -- were abandoned as pockets of pro-Gaddafi resistance and the presence of snipers and artillery fire made the area dangerous. Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr, who advanced into the city with rebel fighters Sunday night, said the security situation in the city was “tenuous,” despite there being celebrations in the streets. “There are some Gaddafi forces still putting up a fight,” Al Jazeera's correspondent said. “And rebels still have one last push to make towards Bab al-Azizyah,” Khodr added, saying that it was unclear when this advance would take place. Third Gaddafi son captured The head of Libya's National Transitional Council (NTC) said Monday rebels captured another of Gaddafi's sons -- raising to three the number of the Libyan leader's children in custody. Mustafa Abdel Jalil told the Associated Press on Monday that rebels detained al-Saadi Gaddafi on Sunday night along with his brother Saif al-Islam. Gaddafi's sons and a daughter have all played roles in their father's regime, some in diplomatic or business roles. Al-Saadi and his brothers Mutassim and Khamis all headed military brigades. The International Criminal Court has confirmed the capture of Saif al-Islam, who along with his father faces charges of crimes against humanity. Another son, Mohammed, was under house arrest. Libya state TV goes off air Libya’s official television Al-Jamahiriya went off the air on Monday afternoon, correspondents said, amid unconfirmed reports that rebels had seized the state broadcaster. Al-Jamahiriya stopped broadcasting at around 1400 GMT, with television screens suddenly turning black. Minutes later the network’s logo appeared at the bottom right of the screen with no picture or sound transmitted. Libyan opposition websites said rebels, who have taken large swathes of Tripoli where they control several neighborhoods, seized the headquarters of the television. The claim could not be immediately verified. Meanwhile, speaking at a press conference in the rebel stronghold Benghazi, the NTC's Mustafa Abdel Jalil acknowledged that Libya still faced many challenges, including maintaining law and order. “Jalil spoke at length saying that it wasn't going to be a bed of roses and a great number of challenges lay ahead for the Libyan people,” Al Jazeera's Jacky Rowland reported from Benghazi. Rowland called Jalil “a very moderate voice, a voice calling for common sense and reason” at this sensitive time. Defiant audio messages There has been no word on the location of Gaddafi himself. The Libyan leader has delivered a series of angry and defiant audio messages in recent days, vowing not to surrender. In the most recent address, he acknowledged that opposition forces were moving into Tripoli and warned the city would be turned into another Baghdad. He also called on Libya's tribes to rally to the city's defense. “How come you allow Tripoli, the capital, to be under occupation once again?” he said. “The traitors are paving the way for the occupation forces to be deployed in Tripoli.” Opposition forces and Tripoli residents were trying to maintain order in the city on Monday, Al Jazeera's Khodr reported. “The people of Tripoli really are maintaining law and order in the areas that they are now controlling in Tripoli,” our correspondent said. “They have set up checkpoints, are searching cars and looking for possible Gaddafi supporters, because ever since late last night they were worried about sleeper cells in the capital.” As the fighting intensified, it was reported that foreign journalists had been trapped inside the Rixos hotel where many correspondents have been based throughout the conflict. “They are not allowed to leave the hotel because there are Gaddafi men in the area and around the area,” Khodr said. Opposition hold majority control An opposition fighter in Tripoli told Al Jazeera that only about 20 per cent of the city was in the hands of Gaddafi supporters. “NATO air forces are above us, I am not sure if they are going to strike or if they are just here for surveillance.” Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the NATO secretary-general, said NATO is ready to work with the Libyan NTC, and “our goal throughout this conflict has been to protect the people of Libya”. With Gaddafi's grip on power apparently slipping, speculation has begun on where he may flee if Tripoli falls into rebel hands. In a press conference, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, South Africa's foreign minister, said Pretoria was not facilitating Gaddafi's exit and did not know the 69-year-old leader's current whereabouts. Nkoana-Mashabane added that South Africa had no plans at the moment to recognize the rebel government if Gaddafi falls. “The Libyans themselves must be given the chance to decide the future if their country and the future of Gaddafi,” Nkoana-Mashabane said. Al Jazeera's correspondent in Johannesburg, Haru Matasa, said Angola and Zimbabwe had been cited as countries the embattled leader was most likely to go to.
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