Libyan rebels launch massive offensive against Gaddafi

By Khanyisa Tabata
23 August 2011

Libyan rebels launched a massive offensive against Muammar Gaddafi's compound in Tripoli as his son refuted reports of his own arrest.

According to the BBC, the rebels had warned earlier they would soon mount an attack, backed by captured tanks, on the compound in the centre of the capital.

The sound of the fighting in the capital has become more intense than at any other time since rebels surged into Tripoli three days ago, and thick smoke is billowing out of the complex.

Earlier, South African based defence analyst Helmoed Heitman said Gaddafi and his regime were on their way out. He said that there could be no reverse of the situation in which the forces loyal to Gaddafi now find themselves.

Heitman says the real question now is not what happens to Gaddafi, but rather what happens to the country.

Meanwhile President Jacob Zuma says many lives could have been saved if the African Union had been allowed to carry out its initiatives in Libya.

He spoke at a news conference at Tuynhuys after a meeting with Ghana's visiting President John Atta Mills.

Zuma said those who have the power to bomb other countries undermined the AU's efforts and initiatives to handle the situation in Libya