Rebels are being gathered in Tripoli for a purpose - journalist

Independent journalist Lizzie Phelan who is in Tripoli says allowing the rebels inside the capital could well be a strategic move on the part of Libya troops who have corralled the rebels into a single location.

She argues that loyalist forces remain in de facto control of the city.

Most of the rebels who are not busy looting are now gathering on the Green Square in the center of Tripoli waving flags.

“What we have heard is that the strategy of the Libyan government and army was to permit the rebels into the city because previously they have been operating in a sneaky manner and it was very difficult to know who they were and where they were hiding, so that they could be dealt with in a direct manner,” the journalist says, adding that if this information proves true – it would be interesting to see what NATO undertakes to support the rebels on the ground.

Meanwhile, there are reports that an assault on Muammar Gaddafi’s last stronghold – Bab al-Aziziyah compound – has started. The colonel’s whereabouts are unknown. 

Reports say rebel forces are controlling most of the capital, Tripoli, with the exception of government residences in the city center.

­Foreign journalists trapped in deserted hotel in Tripoli

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