Libyan rebels captured a major military base that defends Muammar Gaddafi's stronghold of Tripoli today as clashes and protests raged in the streets of the capital.
The tide of the six-month-old civil war appeared to be turning quickly against the leader of more than four decades.
Rebels rapidly advancing toward Tripoli took over the base of the Khamis Brigade, 16 miles west of the capital. After a brief gun battle, Gaddafi's forces fled what was once a major symbol of the regime's power.
Gaddafi's 27-year-old son Khamis commands the 32nd Brigade, also known simply as the Khamis Brigade, one of the best trained and equipped units in the Libyan military.
Inside the base, hundreds of rebels cheered wildly and danced, raising the rebel flag on the front gate of a large wall enclosing the compound. They seized large stores of weapons, driving away with truckloads of whatever arms they could get their hands on.
Ahmed al-Ajdal, 27, a fighter from Tripoli, was loading up a truck with ammunition.
"This is the wealth of the Libyan people that Gaddafi was using against us," he said, pointing to his haul. "Now we will use it against him and any other dictator who goes against the Libyan people."
In Tripoli, there was a second day of widespread clashes between what the opposition called "sleeping cells" of rebels who are rising up and Gaddafi loyalists. There were also large anti-government protests.
Rebels said yesterday that they had launched their first attack on Tripoli in co-ordination with Nato and gunbattles and mortar rounds rocked the city. Nato aircraft also made heavier-than-usual bombing runs after nightfall, with loud explosions booming across the city.
Today, more heavy machine gun fire and explosions rang out across the capital.
Residents reported clashes in neighbourhoods all over Tripoli as well as the city's Mitiga military airport.
Mukhtar Lahab, a rebel commander closing in on Tripoli and a former captain in Gaddafi's army, said his relatives inside the capital reported mass protests in four neighbourhoods sympathetic to the opposition: Fashloum, Souk al-Jouma, Tajoura and Janzour. He said mosques there were rallying residents with chants of "Allahu Akbar" or "God is great," broadcast on loudspeakers.
At the same time, hundreds of rebels in pickup trucks and even some on foot were moving full speed toward the capital from the west. It was those rebels who captured the Khamis Brigade base.
As town after town fell and Gaddafi forces melted away, the mood turned euphoric.
Rebel Murad Dabdoub said that Gaddafi's forces were pounding rebel positions west of the city with rockets, mortars and anti-aircraft fire.
"We are not going back. God willing, this evening we will enter Tripoli," said Issam Wallani, another rebel.
But Libyan government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim told a news conference in Tripoli: "There are thousands and thousands of soldiers who are willing to defend the city,"
He accused the rebels of committing atrocities in areas under their control and appealed for a ceasefire.
He warned of "disasters" if Gaddafi's regime falls.
Nato said the shifting battle lines and concentration of fighting in towns and villages are making it more difficult to identify and engage targets for airstrikes.
"It's much tougher to do in an urban area," he said. "This requires very precise and deep intelligence to achieve without endangering the civilian population."
In Dubai, Libya's new rebel-allied ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, urged stepped up Nato air attacks over Tripoli, including the use of helicopter gunships.
Later rebels pushed to the western suburb of Janzour on the outskirts of Tripoli without meeting any resistance.
They were greeted by civilians lining the streets and waving rebel flags.