Chief of Libya's ex-rebels arrives in capital

The chief of Libya's former rebels arrived in Tripoli on Saturday, greeted by a boisterous red carpet ceremony meant to show he's taking charge of the interim government replacing the ousted regime of Moammar Gadhafi.

But even as Libya's new leaders tried to consolidate control over the vast country, Gadhafi loyalists pushed back hard against an assault on the town of Bani Walid, one of Gadhafi's remaining strongholds, in a sign that the battle is far from over.

Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, head of the anti-Gadhafi forces' National Transitional Council, landed Saturday at an air force base on the outskirts of Tripoli. A tattered red carpet was rolled out, and hundreds of fighters and officials in suits rushed toward the plane as he walked down the steps. Some flashed victory signs or shouted "God is great."

Abdul-Jalil was mobbed by the crowd as he tried to make his way to the air force building. At one point, a fistfight broke out between two guards. One of the guards waved a pistol in the air and was knocked down by bystanders using a metal detector and a potted plant before Abdul-Jalil was rushed into a secure area. No shots were fired.

Abdul-Jalil's arrival was meant to show that the former rebels are getting ready to establish their government in the capital. Until now, most of leaders of the anti-Gadhafi movement had been based in the eastern city of Benghazi.

"It's a day that shows Libya is finally in the hands of its people," said Abdullah Gzema, an NTC member from the coastal city of Zawiya. "We know we have nothing ahead of us but challenges. The challenge now is to organize the state and that will be harder than the military campaign."

Ahmed Darrad, the NTC's interior minister, took the disorderly welcome for Abdul-Jalil in stride. "We expected that he would get a popular reception, but we didn't expect it to be quite to this extent," he said, smiling.

Revolutionary forces entered Tripoli on Aug. 21, six months after the uprising against Gadhafi began.

The fall of Tripoli effectively sealed the fate of Gadhafi's regime, but Abdul-Jalil stayed away from the capital until Saturday. His prolonged absence had raised questions about the former rebels' ability to take charge.

Officials close to Abdul-Jalil cited security concerns as one of the reasons.
While anti-Gadhafi forces have driven armed loyalists out of Tripoli, the security situation remains shaky. The capital has been flooded with weapons, including those in the hands of civilians.

Earlier Saturday, as reporters waited for Abdul-Jalil's arrival at the air force base, a group of fighters escorted a wooden coffin to a nearby plane. The coffin carried a fighter who was killed Friday by a young civilian in Tripoli's main square. The assailant drew a pistol and shot the fighter in the chest after being told he could not enter the square, said Rafa al-Mogherbi, a fighter who witnessed the shooting.

Anti-Gadhafi forces control much of Libya, but have had trouble driving loyalists out of three strongholds, including the town of Bani Walid, where fierce fighting raged Saturday. From hiding, the fugitive Gadhafi has exhorted loyalists to keep fighting in audio messages.

On Saturday night, a radio station in Bani Walid rebroadcast Gadhafi's last recording, in which he urged his followers to rise up and fight, saying "this is the zero hour."

"Shame on you if you don't fight. If you don't fight, you will go to hell," he said in the message, which was repeatedly replayed on the station.

Revolutionary forces and regime loyalists had been engaged in off-and-on surrender talks in Bani Walid, a town about 90 miles (140 kilometers) southeast of Tripoli, for more than a week.

On Saturday afternoon, anti-Gadhafi fighters in a desert valley some two miles (three kilometers) from Bani Walid came under heavy attack from loyalists. Mortar rounds struck the area, releasing clouds of dust and smoke. Snipers also targeted rebel fighters, as ambulances sped up and down the main road into town.

Loud explosions and the roar of NATO aircraft were heard, indicating the alliance was aiding the rebel advance in Bani Walid. The NATO air campaign, begun in March under a U.N. mandate to protect civilians, has continued since Gadhafi's fall.More...