abc s chuck sivertsen reports. reporter: outside tripoli, the final push was on. the rebel advance was turned back several times during the day with a libyan spokesman saying the regime would fight to the end. tripoli is well-protected. they re running like rats. reporter: the heart of gadhafi s defense, an elite unit commanded by his 27-year-old son, have retreated, abandoning their uniforms as they flee into the city. when their base was abandoned, the rebels rushed in, capturing a wealth of arms and ammunition. newly fortified they pushed on to the western outskirts of tripoli and report meeting no resistance. inside tripoli, there was a second day of clashes between new rebel groups that have risen up and gadhafi loyalists. but in cities that have already been liberated there is widespread elation. we smell the freedom now. we smell the freedom now. reporter: chuck sivertsen, abc news.
the international criminal court along with moammar gadhafi himself for crimes against humanity. so two of his sons appear to be in custody tonight. it is unconfirmed that another has surrendered. still no word, no sign whatsoever where exactly moammar gadhafi is at this moment. it is entirely possible that he is inside tripoli. his numbers have been said to be dwindling. a lot of them are just dropping their arms and disappearing. some of those people were supporters of his from his own tribe. libyan who s were supporters of his. also hired mercenaries from various points in africa. it does appear that system of protection around moammar gadhafi is no more tonight. so this is a very fluid situation that we are following here. let s to go colonel jack jacob who s is just as surprised as the rest of us how quickly this
the rebels living inside tripoli. nato reports combat air patrols over libya will continue until all pro-gadhafi forces surrender. little resistance from the regime. libyas information minister struck a defiant tone about the future of this battle. meanwhile, the international criminal says gadhafi wants to be the heir. a source close to gadhafi s inner circle as he tried to escape deskized as a woman. libya s prime minister has fled the country.
tripoli. four decades of gadhafi s rule are now close to coming to an end. the result of a rapid advance by rebel forces over the weekend and the culmination of months of fighting in cities and towns across the libyan coast. nbc news can confirm that two of gadhafi s sons are in custody, saif and mohammed. and al jazeera reporting a third has been captured. we re working on that confirmation. but sources close to gadhafi s inner circle say that saif did try to flee dressed as a woman. meanwhile, the search for gadhafi continues after south african officials denied that they were trying to help the colonel flee to that country. nbc chief foreign correspondent richard engel is inside tripoli with the very latest for us. richard, good morning. reporter: the celebrations are ongoing here in tripoli. this city is still in the process of falling to the hands of the rebels. they now control about 80% of tripoli. but there are still some pockets of this city where fighting is
hour, extensive live coverage of the fight for libya. and the hunt for the man who held an iron grip on the country for decades, will gadhafi and his inner circle be brought to justice? president obama is warning the fight for libya is not over yet. cnn is using its global resources to cover the latest gasps of a brutal regime and deadly civil war. to our viewers in the united states and around the world, i m wolf blitzer. you re in the situation room. libyan rebels say their real moment of victory won t come until moammar gadhafi is captured. we re following breaking news out of libya. the state department in washington says opposition fighters are believed to control about 90% of the capital, tripoli, and they say they have three of gadhafi s sons in custody, but moammar gadhafi remains at large. the u.s. government says it believes he s still in libya. libya s national transitional council says he may have fled to neighboring chad or algeria. president obama is cal