:00:11. > :00:21.This is BBC World News Today. The Gaddafi era draws to a close:
:00:21. > :00:22.
:00:22. > :00:30.Libyan rebels say they now control 95% of the capital Tripoli. He has
:00:30. > :00:33.played his last card, his last game. And even his army have lost control.
:00:33. > :00:37.The whereabouts of Gaddafi is unknown, but three of his sons,
:00:37. > :00:42.including his heir, Saif Al-Islam, are detained by rebels in Libya.
:00:42. > :00:44.Who will fill the power vacuum in post-Gaddafi Libya? We talk to a
:00:44. > :00:49.key member of the National Transitional Council who is
:00:49. > :00:52.spearheading reconstruction efforts. And world leaders welcome the
:00:52. > :01:02.rebels' progress in their battle to topple Gaddafi and urge a peaceful
:01:02. > :01:18.
:01:18. > :01:23.Hello and welcome to the programme, devoted today to the historic and
:01:23. > :01:25.fast-moving events in Libya. Rebels now control nearly all of the
:01:25. > :01:33.capital Tripoli, except for a few pockets of fierce resistance by
:01:33. > :01:36.diehard supporters of Colonel Gaddafi. It has not been much of a
:01:36. > :01:40.battle either. Opposition to the rebels seems to have mostly just
:01:40. > :01:45.melted away in Tripoli. Gaddafi's most powerful sons are under arrest
:01:45. > :01:49.and the state TV station is off-air. But the rebels won't declare
:01:49. > :01:59.victory until Gaddafi himself is captured. With the latest from
:01:59. > :02:00.
:02:01. > :02:06.Tripoli, here's Matthew Price. On the streets of Tripoli, a
:02:06. > :02:10.revolution. They chanted their new Libyan national anthem, and flew
:02:10. > :02:17.the fact -- flew the flag of what they believe is the new, free Libya.
:02:17. > :02:23.Gaddafi, your time is up, they cried. The burbles sped into the
:02:23. > :02:30.capital with astonishing speed. -- the rebels. Moving into Green
:02:30. > :02:35.Square, they tore down his posters and flags. Three miles to the south,
:02:35. > :02:40.in a hotel, it we watched as Colonel Gaddafi's spokesman held
:02:40. > :02:46.what may be his last press conference. Tripoli is well
:02:46. > :02:52.protected, and we have thousands of professional soldiers who are ready
:02:52. > :03:01.to defend the city. But even as he was speaking, the
:03:01. > :03:05.rebels were celebrating, trampling the leader they have come to
:03:05. > :03:10.despise. Today, rebel forces continued to stream into Tripoli,
:03:10. > :03:15.believing they were on the verge of a victory. This is a city of
:03:15. > :03:23.checkpoints, of men protecting their neighbourhoods, wary of what
:03:23. > :03:28.Gaddafi's forces may do next. In areas, there has been fierce
:03:28. > :03:32.fighting. Battles have raged around Gaddafi's compound. Gunfire and
:03:32. > :03:40.explosions can be heard. The Gaddafi family is under pressure
:03:40. > :03:48.like never before. Last night, news came off another son, Saif Al-Islam,
:03:48. > :03:58.being arrested. Then, on Al-Jazeera, another Gaddafi son was live on air
:03:58. > :04:01.
:04:01. > :04:11.when rebels seized him. I am being attacked right now. This is gunfire,
:04:11. > :04:14.
:04:14. > :04:18.inside my house. They are inside my house!
:04:18. > :04:26.But what of Colonel Gaddafi himself? He made a radio address
:04:26. > :04:32.last night, calling on supporters to rise up. Is he in Tripoli? His
:04:32. > :04:36.home town? And what is he planning? 's this city is not under
:04:36. > :04:42.opposition control. Here in the hotel, where journalists have
:04:42. > :04:46.stayed, Gaddafi supporters are in charge both inside and on the
:04:47. > :04:51.streets. It is hard to determine how much of the city this still
:04:51. > :04:57.hold, but the battle for Tripoli is not yet over.
:04:57. > :05:02.NATO has continued its air strikes. Without its air support, the rebels
:05:02. > :05:09.would not be in the strong position they find themselves now. And
:05:09. > :05:14.Libyan state television, has now fallen off their. Still, opposition
:05:14. > :05:21.supporters are confident to be freely talking about the new Libya.
:05:21. > :05:30.-- fallen off air. He has played his last card, his
:05:30. > :05:36.last game. And even his bigger army, they have lost control. All the
:05:36. > :05:41.army of Gaddafi now, they fight without any order or anything.
:05:41. > :05:47.If he is, it will his supporters laid down their guns, or fight to
:05:47. > :05:49.the last? -- laid down. In six months, the conflict in
:05:49. > :05:53.Libya has been characterised by swings in the fortunes of the
:05:53. > :05:57.rebels. But in the past few days, the rebels have advanced at a rapid
:05:57. > :06:00.pace. From the west, they have been approaching from the strategic town
:06:00. > :06:04.of Zawiya, which fell at the weekend, just a 30 minute drive
:06:04. > :06:07.from the capital. On the eastern front, they have been moving in
:06:07. > :06:12.from Zlitan, nearly 100 miles from Tripoli. And in the south, another
:06:12. > :06:15.rebel convoy has been making swift progress. Our correspondent is with
:06:15. > :06:23.a convoy of rebels which earlier today managed to enter the centre
:06:23. > :06:32.of Tripoli. This morning, as we have come into
:06:32. > :06:40.Tripoli, very quiet. The few sides -- few sounds of shooting in the
:06:40. > :06:45.background. This is all we are seeing, groups of young men at
:06:45. > :06:55.celebrating. So far, no signs of fighting in the city. Everything
:06:55. > :06:55.
:06:55. > :07:01.looks very quiet. We have just come into the centre
:07:01. > :07:08.of Tripoli. We have come up against this roadblock. They say there is
:07:08. > :07:13.still fighting going on up ahead. They are bringing up rebel fighters.
:07:13. > :07:23.They have just past us in the car here. Where is Gaddafi? Nobody
:07:23. > :07:30.
:07:30. > :07:38.knows! He maybe in the earth! Maybe here. He is hiding somewhere?
:07:38. > :07:43.scared. Although it appears very quiet in
:07:43. > :07:47.Tripoli this morning, it is also very tense, and they are still
:07:47. > :07:54.parts of the city not under rebel control, and still resistance going
:07:54. > :08:00.on. Then we came across a convoy heading into the city. Little do
:08:00. > :08:07.these fighters know what lay in store ahead. We decided to follow
:08:07. > :08:12.them as they headed along the seafront towards the city centre.
:08:12. > :08:18.Up ahead, there are still signs of fighting. But then we ran straight
:08:18. > :08:28.into an ambush. We saw a 20mm anti- aircraft cannon firing into the
:08:28. > :08:48.
:08:48. > :08:58.It is clear that despite the celebrations, this is still a city
:08:58. > :09:00.
:09:00. > :09:01.that is far from safe also cure. We can cross live to our
:09:01. > :09:04.correspondent. Misrata, to the east of Tripoli,
:09:04. > :09:07.has been the scene of very fierce fighting. Last night, there were
:09:07. > :09:15.celebrations in the streets. We can talk to our correspondent in
:09:15. > :09:21.Misrata. There is jubilation here. They have been through an
:09:21. > :09:26.extraordinary ordeal here. I don't think anybody expected to see their
:09:26. > :09:33.forces breaking into the capital this soon. It has been planned a
:09:33. > :09:38.long time, the military committee here who led the battle to force
:09:38. > :09:46.Gaddafi's forces are out of the city, they helped to plan this
:09:46. > :09:52.uprising. It was a joint uprising in Tripoli. Forces going from here,
:09:52. > :09:57.they cannot get here by road. The road is blocked. But several
:09:57. > :10:05.hundreds of them went by boat instead, and joined the uprising in
:10:05. > :10:11.Tripoli. They are pleased that operation has gone well, they are
:10:11. > :10:17.planned it was better organised than previous opposition attempts.
:10:17. > :10:24.There is also a realisation that it is not yet over. They are not yet
:10:24. > :10:29.Pope -- not yet to be able to open the road. When that road has open,
:10:29. > :10:32.they can say western Libya is in opposition hands.
:10:32. > :10:35.As the Gaddafi regime crumbles, it is by no means certain that peace
:10:35. > :10:37.and stability will follow. After four decades of repression and one-
:10:37. > :10:43.man rule, the challenges of transforming Libya into a free and
:10:43. > :10:48.democratic country are tremendous. Many of the tribal, ethnic and
:10:48. > :10:51.ideological divisions in Libya are reflected within rebel ranks. And
:10:51. > :10:57.though the goal of removing Gaddafi has unified them, that unity could
:10:57. > :10:59.unravel once he is gone. Some of the prominent rebel leaders, like
:10:59. > :11:02.the chairman of the National Transition Council, Mustafa Abdel
:11:02. > :11:08.Jalil, were senior members of Gaddafi's government before they
:11:09. > :11:11.defected and are viewed with suspicion by some Libyans. The
:11:11. > :11:16.mysterious death last month of the rebels' military commander, Abdel
:11:16. > :11:19.Fattah Younes, suggests there are fractures amongst their ranks.
:11:19. > :11:24.General Younes, who was an interior minister under Gaddafi, is believed
:11:24. > :11:26.to have been killed by rebel fighters. One of the key members of
:11:26. > :11:28.Libya's National Transitional Council is Ahmed Jehani, who serves
:11:28. > :11:34.as the National Transitional Council's minister for
:11:34. > :11:36.Reconstruction and Infrastructure. He joins me now from Dubai, where
:11:36. > :11:46.the National Transitional Council has established its headquarters
:11:46. > :11:49.
:11:49. > :11:55.outside Libya. Tell me, do you speak with one voice? We know the
:11:55. > :12:02.existence of divisions and factions within your movement. We are
:12:02. > :12:08.learning to be democratic, so we are allowing 100 flowers to bloom.
:12:08. > :12:14.But we do speak with one voice on the basic and main challenges
:12:14. > :12:22.facing us. A do you believe you have the confidence and authority
:12:22. > :12:27.of the Libyan people to do what you believe needs to be done? Yes, the
:12:27. > :12:36.Libyan people have spoken so loudly, that they want to express their
:12:36. > :12:41.views, and reach their objective of having a democratic state. We are
:12:41. > :12:48.helping at this process. As Libyans, most of us are volunteering to
:12:48. > :12:54.bring about a stable, secure all and just framework and environment
:12:54. > :13:00.within which democracy will express itself. The mandate is the Libyan
:13:00. > :13:07.people wanting what we want. We are all part of that. Our institutions
:13:07. > :13:14.are evolving to deal with different phases. This phase is transitional.
:13:14. > :13:21.Many of the ideas for transitions are geared towards nation-building,
:13:21. > :13:27.such as reconciliation, and hopefully this will lead to the
:13:27. > :13:33.constitutional live we are aiming for. If you look at post conflict
:13:33. > :13:39.Egypt, we can see there is a political uncertainty, crime has
:13:39. > :13:47.risen substantially. How can you restore order and minimise unrest?
:13:47. > :13:56.There are huge fears about reprisals, obviously. We have been
:13:56. > :14:04.thinking hard for the last few months on the day when our lives
:14:04. > :14:11.were taken away from us. Now we are reclaiming it with a very serious
:14:11. > :14:18.and hard headed attitude. There are issues of security, of course. We
:14:18. > :14:25.are seeking help from the international community, and we are
:14:25. > :14:30.addressing the operational side of bed, making sure there is no
:14:30. > :14:36.destabilisation of the security aberrations -- security apparatus
:14:36. > :14:46.that exists. We are dealing with different countries here. Libya is
:14:46. > :14:47.
:14:47. > :14:53.smaller than Egypt. Libya is also fast. On this building security
:14:53. > :14:58.apparatus, we understand they are specially trained forces trained
:14:58. > :15:04.outside Libya. When will they go in to restore order, and do you want
:15:04. > :15:14.for some -- do you want help from the international community?
:15:14. > :15:15.
:15:15. > :15:20.Briefly, please. We are training at work people in Libya. We are
:15:20. > :15:30.seeking the help of countries friendly to us. They it will be
:15:30. > :15:33.
:15:33. > :15:39.training our people, and we are getting equipment and cars and
:15:39. > :15:49.uniforms. That is the story. Very quickly, how do you fill with
:15:49. > :15:51.
:15:51. > :16:01.today's events? -- How do you feel. It is the first day of our lives.
:16:01. > :16:07.
:16:07. > :16:09.We are taking things very seriously, In a statement today, the Prime
:16:09. > :16:12.Minister here David Cameron said Colonel Gaddafi's regime is "in
:16:12. > :16:14.full retreat", but he added that the challenges ahead should not be
:16:14. > :16:17.underestimated. Our Diplomatic Correspondent James Robbins reports
:16:17. > :16:23.on the international reaction to today's events and looks towards
:16:23. > :16:27.Libya's future. As rebels swept into Tripoli, they have much to
:16:27. > :16:31.celebrate. Dislodging Colonel Gaddafi was extraordinarily
:16:31. > :16:35.difficult and dangerous. It required outside help and then the
:16:35. > :16:39.talk air campaign. The future for Libya remains uncertain and full of
:16:39. > :16:45.risk, so well David Cameron peeled the achievement he did not hide
:16:45. > :16:50.from the future challenges. There will be difficult you might, K.
:16:50. > :16:53.Transition is never smooth or easy. But today, the Arab spring is one
:16:53. > :16:57.step further away from repression and dictatorship and one step
:16:57. > :17:02.closer to freedom and democracy, and the Libyan people are closer to
:17:02. > :17:10.their dream of a better future, Lady from the terror of Gaddafi.
:17:10. > :17:20.Can that dream up better future be made real? Rebels have been
:17:20. > :17:20.
:17:20. > :17:24.persuaded not to take revenge on Gaddafi loyalists. By Colin all
:17:24. > :17:29.Libyans to exercise self-restraint, and to respect of property and
:17:29. > :17:32.lives of others, said they head of the rebel cows have. It is the
:17:32. > :17:38.memory of Iraq after the toppling of Saddam Hussein which is the
:17:38. > :17:44.nightmare, looting, Naeem and the descent into sectarian killing. But
:17:44. > :17:50.Libya is not Iraq, but your position can 0.2 cities they hold
:17:50. > :17:55.where law and order have not broken down. Rebels failed to prevent the
:17:55. > :17:59.murder of General Abdul Younis, and accusations that he was the victim
:17:59. > :18:04.of a power struggle. Looking further into the future, the number
:18:04. > :18:08.one priority is transforming dictatorship into democracy. The
:18:08. > :18:14.rebel opposition has drafted a new constitution. It promises a
:18:14. > :18:20.democratic state based on law rather than tribal or personal
:18:20. > :18:26.loyalty. It promises freedom of opinion, demonstration and mass
:18:26. > :18:33.media. These are now just once, but the opposition NTC says that it is
:18:33. > :18:39.committed to deliver. The NPC has, within its power, to show the West,
:18:39. > :18:44.including showing members of ambivalent tribes that it is going
:18:44. > :18:47.to move in line with professed liberal values. If it does that
:18:47. > :18:56.early on and persuades people it has an excellent chance of avoiding
:18:56. > :19:00.what happened MIraq. As the opposition celebrate in Benghazi,
:19:00. > :19:06.its opposition will now come under intense scrutiny. Prospects are far
:19:06. > :19:14.better than in Iraq because the Arab world was largely united
:19:14. > :19:17.against Gaddafi, but still, it risks remain. With the battle for
:19:17. > :19:19.Libya in its final stages, the whereabouts of Colonel Gaddafi is
:19:19. > :19:24.still not known. There's speculation that he's under siege
:19:24. > :19:27.in a part of Tripoli under his control. The White House has said
:19:27. > :19:32.it believes Gaddafi is in Libya. Colonel Gaddafi himself has always
:19:32. > :19:35.maintained he'll remain in Tripoli. With his four decades in power
:19:35. > :19:42.drawing to a close, Allan Little looks at the man who's inspired
:19:42. > :19:45.fear at home and funded terrorism abroad. Is there something in the
:19:45. > :19:51.mind set of dictators that makes them blind to their own impending
:19:51. > :19:58.downfall? This bizarre moment came in February, as rebel forces had
:19:58. > :20:03.reportedly seized half his country. He seemed to imagine himself in --
:20:03. > :20:11.invincible. They love me and would die to protect me, the Libyan
:20:11. > :20:15.people. Gadaffi seized power in a coup d'etat in 1969, aged 27. Soon
:20:15. > :20:20.his regime was marked by brutal repression at home and violence
:20:20. > :20:25.abroad and Libya became isolated and fear. He back armed groups
:20:25. > :20:29.around the world, and he helped arm the IRA. In 1984, someone opened
:20:29. > :20:32.fire from inside the Libyan embassy in that London and policewoman
:20:32. > :20:39.Yvonne Fletcher was killed. Nobody was ever brought to justice. Two
:20:39. > :20:43.years later the United States blamed Libya for a bomb attack on a
:20:43. > :20:48.Berlin nightclub that was full of US servicemen. The Americans born
:20:48. > :20:56.his compound. He survived, defiant, strengthened in his own sense of
:20:56. > :21:01.himself as heroic defender of the week against a strong. -- there are
:21:01. > :21:07.strong. 270 died when a Pan Am jet en route to New York was bowled
:21:07. > :21:12.over Lockerbie. The investigation is let to two Libyan agents and
:21:12. > :21:16.Gadaffi refused to hand them over, but in 1999 he began a process that
:21:16. > :21:20.would change his relationship with the outside world, first sending
:21:20. > :21:24.the Lockerbie suspects for trial, then he announced he was renouncing
:21:24. > :21:30.weapons of mass destruction to become an ally in mind the war on
:21:30. > :21:34.terror. Western leaders embraced him. A for a country is prepared to
:21:34. > :21:38.say that we're going to give up chemical and nuclear weapons
:21:38. > :21:44.capability and we want a ceasefire, deceased ties with terrorist groups,
:21:44. > :21:50.then we should open up to that. This required the diplomatic blind
:21:50. > :21:56.eye to his continuing brutality at home, where he and his family were
:21:56. > :22:00.feared and reviled. A popular uprising began in February and NATO
:22:00. > :22:08.intervened in March, but he seemed to still believe in his impregnable
:22:08. > :22:15.hold on power. Tonight, his personal fate remains undecided.
:22:15. > :22:25.But his 42 year regime, his ability to rein through terror, is surely
:22:25. > :22:26.
:22:26. > :22:34.now over. Andrew Mitchell is the International Development Secretary
:22:34. > :22:40.in the UK. The Secretary of State said that everyone is mindful of
:22:40. > :22:47.Iraq, our new also taking the lead in but post conflict planning here?
:22:47. > :22:53.We are not taking the lead, but we will seek to learn lessons from a
:22:53. > :22:57.rack. When I say we're not taking the lead, because the ownership of
:22:57. > :23:04.the post gauntlet stabilisation must rest with the people in Libya.
:23:04. > :23:09.What are you doing to support the n t see? We are heavily engaged and
:23:09. > :23:14.have been for some months. We deployed a large team of
:23:14. > :23:18.stabilisation experts into Benghazi. They were there for two weeks,
:23:18. > :23:25.working with other coalition allies on stabilisation issues,
:23:25. > :23:31.interacting with the rebels, and heavily engaged in workshops with
:23:31. > :23:34.them to help develop the plan. But stabilisation, which will always be
:23:34. > :23:39.complex and difficult is something in which Britain has some
:23:39. > :23:45.experience, and I am proud and pleased about the leadership we
:23:45. > :23:49.have shown on that, but at the end of the day, it has to be owned and
:23:49. > :23:55.run and organised by the end T C. We have provided a service to them
:23:55. > :24:01.to try and achieve that. Would that service extent to British forces
:24:01. > :24:07.supporting, training, inside Libya, Libyan forces, to maintain
:24:07. > :24:12.stability? That is extremely unlikely, not least because the NTC
:24:12. > :24:19.has not asked for that sort of support. We are engaged in other
:24:19. > :24:24.areas of security and justice, with providing technical assistance, and
:24:24. > :24:29.a significant workshop with the NTC is going on today in Dubai. There
:24:29. > :24:35.are several civil -- stabilisation expires across Whitehall who are
:24:35. > :24:42.working with the n t c in a post conflict situation to develop
:24:42. > :24:47.justice and security. In terms of support like that, Britain will be
:24:47. > :24:50.significantly engaged. Are you confident that the National
:24:50. > :24:56.Transitional Council does not have divisions within it, because there
:24:56. > :25:00.are concerns that it is mostly made up of Libyans from the east and
:25:01. > :25:05.that the Western rebels are not so well represented? The National
:25:05. > :25:11.Transitional Council has been discussing with leaders of the free
:25:11. > :25:16.were being forces in Tripoli. Its leader said in his press conference
:25:16. > :25:19.today that this is a group that is both national and transitional.
:25:19. > :25:24.What we will see in the next few days is a commitment to a process
:25:24. > :25:33.that will last about eight months, that will produce a new
:25:33. > :25:36.constitution and free elections at the end of that. The rebels swept
:25:36. > :25:39.into many areas of Tripoli with speed that took many by surprise.
:25:39. > :25:42.There were big celebrations in the opposition stronghold of Benghazi
:25:42. > :25:45.in the east but the capital still faces an uncertain few days. Here
:25:45. > :25:54.are some of Tripoli's residents with their own story of the past 24
:25:54. > :25:58.hours. The Freedom fighters arrived and by evening the were in Green
:25:58. > :26:08.Square in Shipperley, it is a great moment for us, a beautiful day for
:26:08. > :26:10.
:26:10. > :26:20.us. -- in Tripoli. The rebels are prepared. They are not looking to
:26:20. > :26:23.
:26:23. > :26:31.hire people. -- hurt people. Will local people in naturally and in
:26:31. > :26:38.control of their neighbourhoods and control their memories. But it is -
:26:38. > :26:48.- they are under fire from moment to moment. We cannot feel peace, we
:26:48. > :26:49.
:26:49. > :26:55.cannot feel victory, until we see Gadaffi toppled. The future is
:26:55. > :27:05.freedom, and not everyone gets this chance, to start on a new blank
:27:05. > :27:08.
:27:08. > :27:12.Things are changing overnight. We are looking to the south. We're
:27:12. > :27:17.getting some thundery downpours spilling into someone areas. We
:27:17. > :27:22.have been watching developments in northern France, where there have
:27:22. > :27:26.been some intense downpours. Some of these will appear from the north
:27:26. > :27:31.on Tuesday morning. Whilst at risk for torrential thundery downpours
:27:31. > :27:36.for the washer is an area from East Anglia down through the South East,
:27:36. > :27:41.and central southern England. Rainfall amounts will be variable.
:27:41. > :27:46.Some places will get 50 mm or more. That could cause some local
:27:46. > :27:52.flooding. South West England will be dry, but we have won the of rain
:27:52. > :27:56.running into eastern parts of South West England, in two wheels
:27:56. > :28:02.although Western Wales should avoid the worst. It will be dry and
:28:02. > :28:06.bright in Northern Ireland, some showers in Scotland, and showers
:28:06. > :28:10.will be heavy and were frequent compared to today. We're seeing the
:28:10. > :28:16.worst of the thundery, potential downpours cleaning into the North