By BEN HUBBARD | AP, ARABNEWS

TRIPOLI: Hundreds of Libyan rebels blasted through the green gates of Muammar Qaddafi’s sprawling compound in Tripoli Tuesday, charging wildly through the symbolic heart of the crumbing regime as they looted armories and scoured the grounds in vain for the missing dictator.

The storming of Bab Al-Aziziya, long the nexus of Qaddafi’s power, marked a major success for the rebels. But with Qaddafi and his powerful sons still unaccounted for — and gunbattles flaring across the nervous city — the fighters know they cannot declare victory.

After five hours of intensive battles with Qaddafi loyalists outside, fought with mortars, heavy machine-guns and anti-aircraft guns, the rebel force was inside. They beat and killed some of those who defended the compound and hauled away crates of weapons and trucks with guns mounted on the back in a frenzy of looting.

“We’re looking for Qaddafi now. We have to find him now,” said Sohaib Nefati, a 29-year-old rebel sitting against a wall with a Kalashnikov rifle. read more