Decisive Win For Libyan Rebels

August 22, 2011 | Filed under: General News | Posted by: Bret Alan

Opposition troops converged on Moammar Gaddafi’s compound in the Libyan capital of Tripoli over the weekend, with some Twitter reports even making unsubstantiated claims that the dictator has been killed. Two of his sons are currently in rebel custody, and they are expected to face a trial after the fighting has ceased.

World leaders are hailing the developments as the end of Gaddafi’s reign. Obama has been briefed on the conflict while on vacation, and UK Prime Minister David Cameron cut his vacation short to return to London to chair a security council meeting on the situation in Libya.

Most in the international community are calling for Gaddafi to step down peacefully and to end the fighting after several days of intense ground battles backed by NATO airstrikes on the capital. As of 10:30am Eastern Time in the US, the whereabouts of Gaddafi remain unknown.

The Obama administration released a statement late Sunday night which includes the following:

“Tonight, the momentum against the Gadhafi regime has reached a tipping point. Tripoli is slipping from the grasp of a tyrant. The Gadhafi regime is showing signs of collapsing. The people of Libya are showing that the universal pursuit of dignity and freedom is far stronger than the iron fist of a dictator.”