Libyan rebels trying to oust Moammar Gadhafi say they control most of the capital, Tripoli, but shooting continued Monday as pockets of fighters loyal to the Libyan leader were holding out in parts of the city.
The rebels said fighting intensified when tanks emerged from Mr. Gadhafi's Bab al-Aziziya compound and opened fire.
The head of the Libyan opposition's Transitional National Council, Mustafa Abdel Jalil, said the rebels do not know Mr. Gadhafi's whereabouts. He said Mr. Gadhafi will receive a fair trial once captured, but he does not know how the dictator will defend himself against the crimes committed against the Libyan people and the world.
The latest fighting comes after the rebels broke through Tripoli's outer defenses and reached the city's central Green Square, where thousands celebrated the opposition's arrival.
After the rebels arrived, jubilant Libyans in the central square, which the rebels have renamed Martyrs Square, tore down posters of Mr. Gadhafi and stomped on them. Until recently, the government had used the area for mass demonstrations in support of Mr. Gadhafi.
The rebel troops moved into central Tripoli with little resistance after capturing a key military base near the edge of the city as they advanced from the west.
The rebels say they have detained two of Mr. Gadhafi's sons, including his one-time heir apparent, Seif al-Islam.
International Criminal Court prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said Monday he will contact the rebels and urge them to surrender Seif al-Islam to the Hague-based court as soon as possible. Seif al-Islam is indicted along with his father and Libya's intelligence chief on charges of crimes against humanity for allegedly planning and ordering attacks on civilians in the early days of the crackdown on anti-government protests.
Opposition fighters hauled away truckloads of weapons and ammunition from the captured base run by the government's elite Khamis Brigade, which was commanded by another of Mr. Gadhafi's sons. On their way into the capital, opposition forces also freed several hundred prisoners from a government jail.
A rebel spokesman said insurgents also sent a group of fighters into the capital by sea from the port of Misrata. He said the elite presidential guard in charge of protecting Mr. Gadhafi had surrendered, enabling the opposition to seize large parts of Tripoli.
The International Organization for Migration said Monday it had chartered a boat to Tripoli to begin evacuating stranded migrants. The boat, which can carry 300 people, left Benghazi early Monday.
On Sunday, Libyan state television broadcast a series of defiant audio messages from Mr. Gadhafi. In one, he acknowledged that opposition forces were moving into Tripoli. The Libyan leader said he would stay in the capital “until the end” to defend the city and called on supporters to help liberate it.
Huge crowds gathered early Monday on the streets of Benghazi, the rebel capital in eastern Libya, as reports of the assault on Tripoli grew and expectations mounted that Mr. Gadhafi's hold on power was faltering.
The Libyan leader has seen the areas under his control shrink significantly in recent weeks as rebels advanced on Tripoli from the west, east and south after six months of fighting to end his four-decade rule.
NATO warplanes have been supporting the rebels by bombing pro-Gadhafi forces under a U.N. Security Council resolution authorizing military action to protect Libyan civilians from government attacks.
