Libyan rebels said they had complete control of Tripoli airport on Saturday and had cleared a nearby district of Muammar Gaddafi's forces but still feared isolated snipers at the airfield.
'We control the airport entirely,' rebel commander Bashir al-Taibi said.
Rebels said they had also taken the Qasr ben Gheshir district after a 'clean-up' operation around the international airport, launched that morning to push out remaining loyalist forces entrenched in the neighbourhood.
They added they were still being cautious after loyalist forces fired rockets and mortar rounds that destroyed three civilian aircraft on the tarmac.
At a roundabout in Qasr ben Gheshir, a cheering crowd celebrated the district's 'liberation,' singing, 'Hey, hey hey, Gaddafi is gone forever,' an AFP correspondent said.
'Last night (Friday), about 60-80 cars from the battalion of Khamis Gaddafi,' one of the fugitive dictator's sons, left the area and 'fled to Bani Walid,' a city near Sirte, Gaddafi's hometown, said Mokhtar Lakhtar, who commanded the operation.
'It was not a tactical withdrawal, but really a flight,' he added.
Many in the district confirmed the departure of the convoy of vehicles with Gaddafi loyalists, saying they included 4x4s and 'pick-ups with heavy weapons.'
Two residents said they had seen a pair of large missiles, which they identified as Scuds, going with the convoy, but the rebels did not confirm that.
Rebel fighters fired their guns into the air, with the rattle sometimes punctuated by a burst of anti-aircraft fire.
At the centre of the roundabout, some residents sacrificed a sheep, in the Muslim gesture of celebration.
'We have been freed today! I sacrificed a sheep, and I will sacrifice another tomorrow, when Gaddafi is caught,' said Saleh Belhaj, 42.
Nearby, the airport was under rebel control and calm.
Taibi said pro-Gaddafi forces had fired rockets and mortars at the airport on Friday, destroying three civilian aircraft and damaging several others. 'They specifically targeted the aircraft,' he said.
The charred carcasses of the planes were visible on the tarmac, and rebels were still nervous about being in the open, fearing isolated snipers.
Meanwhile, rebel leader Mustafa Ahmed Jalil promised Saturday that Gaddafi and officials of his regime would be given a fair trial.
'We call on Muammar Gaddafi and his associates to surrender so we can protect them and spare them illegal execution,' the head of the National Transitional Council told a news conference in Benghazi.
'We guarantee them a fair trial, whatever their position,' he said.
Asked about the International Criminal Court, which has issued indictments against Gaddafi, his son Seif al-Islam and his intelligence chief, Jalil said the ICC was complementary to Libyan justice.
The ICC handles serious cases where the courts of the defendant's own country cannot or will not act.
'We have issued appeal after appeal for them to appear, that we will protect them and that they will be tried,' Jalil said. 'Those who are afraid and do not respond will be alone responsible for their security.'
The rebels have offered a $1.7 million dollar reward for Gaddafi's capture, dead or alive.
Jalil added that officials of Gaddafi's regime who do not voice their support for the rebellion will not risk their lives or citizenship, but they will have no political role to play in the new Libya.
Source : New Age
