gunfire and explosions rocked the capital today. rebels say they re making substantial gains in their fight to seize the capital. reuters reports thousands of rebels were seen closing in on tripoli today. nato says moammar gadhafi s regime is, quote, crumbling. the libyan government denies the rebels are making any gains. but a government official who asked not to be named concedes that parts of the capital and its suburbs are no longer in government hands. in an audio address broadcast on state tv today, gadhafi vowed to fight until, quote, the last blood drops from every man and woman. a fierce gun battle broke out today near the hotel where many international journalists are staying. cnn s senior international correspondent matthew chance joins us live by phone from tripoli. matthew, you were in that very hotel. tell us more about what s happening around it. reporter: fredricka, it s a very bad line. i don t know whether you can hear me right now. it s more than just a
this newscast. stick around for that. but first i want to begin this hour with libya s leader of 42 years, moammar gadhafi. he may still be in charge of his capital city, that being tripoli, but listen to what he s lost. any semblance of control in cities in eastern libya. you ll see that in just a second. he has also lost the support of his diplomats. several libyan ambassadors are calling for him to resign, one of whom accuses gadhafi of genocide. but at least the question we ve been asking thus far, where is moammar gadhafi, that is answered for now. he appeared on state-run television today and spoke for more than an hour from a long-ago bombed-out palace in that capital city of tripoli. he had a lot to say, urging supporters to fill the streets to demonstrate for him. and if you listen he also had pretty ugly names for the thousands of libyans who are openly revolting on the streets against him. he said they were high on drugs, that they were committing a crime that will get the