you can be there for the people who matter most. [ grandma ] my family is my joy, my hope... they are my heart. it's the reason we get out of bed in the morning... [ grandpa ] the reason we fall into bed at night sometimes. [ grandma ] yes. that's right. [ male announcer ] humana. [♪...] >> male announcer: now, for a limited time, your companion flies free, plus save up to 65%. call 1-800-sandals. conditions apply. good evening, everyone. we would like to welcome our viewers watching us around the world this hour with our breaking news coverage of developments in libya this evening. rebel officials say moammar

gadhafi's son saif al islam has been captured by rebel forces. this is sky news video from tripoli from our colleagues there and people on the street chanting libya is free, gadhafi needs to go. this all happening just moments ago. this all appears as though it is the end game for the rebels. a spokesman for the libyan government called for immediate negotiations and a halt to the rebel assault. the big prize, tripoli. finally could be theirs. rebel forces surround the libyan capital. the government is conceding that parts of the city are no longer under its control. it says 1,300 people have been killed in fighting over the past 12 hours. now, what about moammar gadhafi?

where is he this hour? that's the question everyone is asking. an audio message from gadhafi earlier today on state-run tv vowed to fight until the last drop of blood. but now there are numerous news reports out of libya that some of gadhafi's security forces have surrendered. some of the most intense fighting in tripoli has been near the hotel where international reporters are staying. matthew chance is there. what is happening this hour, matthew? >> reporter: it's still very intensive firefights on the street of tripoli around this hotel and other areas of the city as well. we're hearing gun shots and grenade explosions coming from all corners in the distance and some very close as well. we have the multiple reports and rumors that are circulating about the fate of colonel gadhafi and why armed forces have not come out on the street. all we can tell you from this vantage point here and obviously

our movements are very restricted by government minders and by the terrible security situation outside. the government is vowing they will fight in. gadhafi loyalists saying they have tens of thousands of professional troops that are committed to defending the city within the past few minutes colonel gadhafi has again appeared on state television here in libya calling on his count countrymen to march on tripoli to defend the capital. no indication in any of the public statements that colonel gadhafi's forces are surrendering or any other rumors that have been circulated over the course of the last several hours. >> we're seeing the government spokesperson addressing reporters from the hotel where you are. what about all these government officials at the hotel? they are keeping a close eye still on what international reporters are doing. are they still there? >> reporter: well, the minders

that were here have largely disappeared and been replaced with security personnel. there was a sea change in the mood of this government controlled hotel earlier on today. essentially at one point there were rumors circulating that the manager of the hotel had received a threat from the rebels that the hotel was going to be attacked. within minutes of that all of the government officials that were using this hotel as a safe haven from nato attacks outside packed up their bags, took their family and left the hotel in a hurry leaving us journalists here with a few other government officials. more gunmen came in. gadhafi loyalists of course and the whole mood of the hotel has changed and it's become much darker, much more tense. there are gun shots very close by. people are carrying weapons in the hotel. you can see all of the journalists have put on their body armor and we congregated in one area in the hope there will be safety in numbers.

outside of the gates of this hotel very close proximity again there are fierce firefights, heavy machine guns, grenades exploding. it does feel like the backdrop of tripoli is being forced on the outskirts of this hotel in large areas across the city. >> something very significant is happening in libya today. matthew chance is in the libyan capital in tripoli reporting on events there. thanks very much. do stay safe. all of our colleagues and friends in tripoli covering this story there for you. this could be the big prize for the rebels. will they take tripoli tonight? it seems as though they have captured many significant neighborhoods of the capital but there is still significant violence, gunfire occurring in tripoli this evening. we are hearing reports of that as well. nothing is said, nothing is done. we can only imagine what it's like inside tripoli right now. a resident joins us by phone with her perspective. we're not identifying her for her protection.

thanks for joining us. what is happening right now on the streets where you are in tripoli? >> hi. a bit earlier all of the males and men of our area -- i live downtown. they were chanting anti-gadhafi slogans for the first time in 42 years. they finally feel like they're free and have some sort of freedom of speech. right now we hear some gun shots. not sure where they are coming from. all of the men were outside on the streets. the women were outside screaming and chanting anti-gadhafi slogans and we feel like it's so close. we're winning. it's the end. >> so really this is a day for you where you feel that this is it. that tripoli will be liberated? >> exactly. i feel like it already is liberated. they need to clean up a bit in

some places. the minority of the gadhafi loyalists need to be picked up. after that, that is it. we'll be in freedom square very soon. before friday. >> right. before friday you are thinking. let me ask you about the future. what's next? do you have hope that what comes next for your city, tripoli, for your country, libya, is full of promise or do you think it will still be difficult? >> let me tell you, we lived 42 years of hell. anything that comes after this will be better than what we lived in the past four decades. anything that is going to come will be a lot better than what we went through, but it will be difficult and i'm not saying it will be amazing and it's not going to be america tomorrow but it will -- we will see drastic changes in this country in the people and we grew to love each other for the first time in 42

years we feel like we're country. we love each other. people in tripoli are chanting for people in barazi and it goes on. we're united against one person that made us live in hell for the past 42 years. finally we can go out and say what we want and ask for what we deserve and get it and we can think without being shot. before you can't even think to yourself. >> i know we're not going to say your name. can you tell me how old you are? >> i am 19. so you are the future of this country. >> yes, basically. >> all right. you are witnesses history for your country. thank you so much for joining us. >> i refuse to leave and this is something that we've all been dreaming of forever. everyone is so happy. it's what we've been waiting for. we were living in fear for the past four decades and now you can go out and say what you want

and say what you feel and i can talk on the phone without being scared that they will come in and chase me. >> please stand by for a second. we're going to show our viewers some video that our colleagues at sky news were able to shoot a few hours ago of people in tripoli celebrating the rebel advance. lets take a look. so i don't know in you were able to see it but you were able to hear it. what goes through your mind when you see celebrations like that in tripoli? >> it's amazing. hello. >> can you still hear me? >> yes, hi.

>> what goes through your mind when you see images of people in the street tonight? >> finally. finally the freedom that we deserve. it's so surreal right now. it hasn't really hit me yet. the second we hear the screaming in the streets, everyone just broke down into tears and we're all happy and screaming and no one really knows how to react. it's amazing. >> thank you so much for joining us. good luck to you. all those young libyans of the residents of tripoli's generation there whose name we're not publicizing on air right now, a lot is at stake for them. this is really a turning point for libya and it will change the history of their country for them as they become older and as they become those who hopefully will have positions of responsibility in that country. the rebel offensive against tripoli launched into high gear within the past several days. it all went very quickly.

a key piece was the fall. oil town of gzawiya. tell us what's going on right now, sara. >> reporter: you can hear blaring of "god is great." it went on until the battle was ultimately finished in other cities. and so what we're hearing is really almost a call to rise up that we know is happening in tripoli. we got new information here. we are west of the capital tripoli. the rebels now say the important coastal road that helps supplies get directly into tripoli, they have now cleared that road. they say they are now inside

tripoli from the west. the rebels saying they have made it into the city from the west. that is new information that we have been able to obtain now from one of the rebels fighters at the front line. an important development. we do know the rebels were in the city on the eastern part and now we know the rebels from this part of the country, from the western side of tripoli have now made it into the city. they say that they are planning on a fierce fight and are ready for it. they have made it to the capital. >> the big question is it seems as though as opposed to sort of the blood bath that was the expectation when rebels hit tripoli that it hasn't reached that level of violence that they are in many cases these rebels rolling in unopposed but there still has to be some concern that it won't be so easy all of the way through. >> reporter: yeah. i think we have to be very, very

careful. it is the dead of night here. we do know they were opposed just a couple of hours ago because we were going down that same coastal road just a few hours ago and we were turned back. we could hear the shells coming in from gadhafi forces there and that was about 15 miles outside of tripoli or exactly 25 kilometers outside of zawiya. halfway to tripoli from here they were opposed strongly by gadhafi troops but they were able to push them out of that area and push gadhafi forces back into tripoli. what we do not know at this point in time is what they could face in the next few hours. with these battles sometimes there's a lull in the fighting. there's literally no fighting for a while and then all of a sudden it gets very, very intense very, very quickly. we don't know what gadhafi regime has in store for those who make it into tripoli. we don't know how many rebels have gotten into the city. we don't know how many more may be coming behind them.

they are very careful with their numbers as anyone would be for the defensive and offensive strategy. we do know they made it into the city and that's a significant development because they've now gone from the west and from the east into tripoli and they said they wanted to surround it. it sounds like that is what they're doing at this time. >> this road from zawiya and tripoli and other roads leading into tripoli, i imagine that these roads are essentially full of traffic, of rebel convoys heading into the capital. is there morale right now, their enthusiasm for this battle at the highest that you've seen? >> reporter: absolutely. it's out of control the way they are feeling at this point in time. we've seen a lot of celebrations today. we heard them this evening. lots of celebrations even fireworks coming from the city center here in zawiya. we are hearing children saying that we are the children of

libya. we're hearing the chants from the homes where we are in a residential area. we're hearing gunfire, celebratory gunfire throughout the night. we're seeing fireworks. we're hearing women chanting as well. there's definitely a sense that this is the end game. this is the final battle but we should be cautious and careful not to say final battle when we don't know what the gadhafi regime has in store, if anything, for the rebels who make it into the city. the rebels were expecting this fight to be extremely fierce and perhaps bloody depending on whether or not they got support from inside of tripoli. the rebels hoping that there's great support for themselves, great support to oust moammar gadhafi but they just don't know at this time. they are going in the city. as you heard from matthew chance, there are a lot of blasts and booms and gunfire going on in that city and it's dark so it's very difficult to tell where exactly it's coming from. which side is battling which

side whether it's gadhafi forces or people shooting in the air. a lot of questions in the dead of night. rebels are feeling like this is coming close to the end of the regime and they are ready to try to finish it off as fast as they can. >> we have teams on the ground covering these fast moving developments in libya. this could be day one for the rebels or it could be a fierce battle in store for these revolutionaries as they enter the capital tripoli. we'll continue to follow developments from libya after a break and we'll also bring you up to date on what may become the atlantic's first hurricane of the season and a warning to anyone living along the u.s. coast that this could impact you. we'll be right back. try this.. it has two times the protein of regular yogurt. you'll feel satisfied. [ female announcer ] yoplait greek. it is so good. oh, and there's a smile.

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>> if you are just joining us, everyone, welcome. we're live on cnn and cnn international. breaking news out of libya this hour. officials say that gadhafi's son has been captured by rebel forces. this could be a significant development for rebels who could capture the city any time now. however, we must be very careful. there is still fighting reported in other neighborhoods of tripoli. this is not a done deal for the rebels. now, just moments ago a spokesman for the libyan government called for immediate negotiations and a halt to the rebel assault. with me now, an egyptian american who lives in libya who has had contact with the rebel movement. have you heard from rebel elements in libya in the last few hours as far as what's

happening now and the significance of what's going on in libya right now. >> thanks once again for inviting me. i received a phone call actually yesterday in the morning from a very good friend of mine that i asked him to join me on previous interview on cnn. he's currently joining the rebels and he was moving with them toward tripoli. that was yesterday morning. >> what was the mood yesterday morning? we know what's happening and we see the fast moving developments in the capital. yesterday morning were they full of that enthusiasm that this mission, their mission, could be completed? >> to answer your question, i believe the best way is to tell you a little bit about the person that is over there. he left libya 30 years ago. this is his first time going back to libya. you can imagine the enthusiasm and how happy he was. he felt he is going to really

make a difference along with all of the lebls threbels that have fighting for the last six months. >> he left libya 30 years ago but when he saw the protests against moammar gadhafi, he thought to himself this is the time to go back? >> actually for the last six months, the libyan community and the united states as a whole have been working very hard along with others that are looking for great change in the arab world as a whole and libya. specifically so they organize themselves and several of them left and went to libya about a month ago. >> let me ask you this. you're egyptian originally. you have lived in libya. you know many arab americans. what goes through your mind when you see these regimes, one after the other, fall who have been in power for decades. dictators who ruled over their countrymen and women for decades with an iron fist.

>> this is a wonderful question. my generation saw a lot of hopes being dashed over the years. many of us left our countries. many of us believed that our mother countries could have had much better opportunities for its own people and could play better role in the international community. however, these regimes have been killing hopes and dashing them over the years. now, today, i can say i have never been inspired and never been more optimistic. i know it is messy and it will take time. however, this is hope we never had hope for the last 30, 40 years. >> talk of your generation. it was young kids and it wasn't

your generation. >> it was not. this is the amazing story. i think that our generation almost gave up. i was visiting egypt a month ago and a friend of mine was telling me, you know, i was starting to convince myself that mubarak is okay. convince myself. >> mubarak the son of hosni mubarak who was the heir apparent of many in egypt. your friend said i was trying to convince myself that would be okay. >> it shows you that our generation was about to give up. these kids did what we couldn't imagine through the new media, through their ability to communicate with other people across the world, they did something beautiful. >> thanks so much for joining us. nice to hear the voice of an arab man that immigrated to the united states watching all of this unfold in the country he comes from and in a region he comes from too.

thanks so much. we're going to take a short break. our senior international correspondent ben wedeman who spend months covering arab uprisings and many weeks in libya as well will join me live after a short break. stay with cnn. it's been a good year for chevy. and not because silverado's the most dependable, longest-lasting full-size truck on the road or because heavy duty made motor trend's 2011 truck of the year. no, it was good because you told us so. consider this a thank-you. the chevy model year wrap up. get in on our greatest model year yet.

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welcome back to our continuing coverage of breaking news out of libya. five months into the nato air

strike campaign to protect civilians but also to help rebels reach their big prize, tripoli. it appears as though they are making huge gains. ben wedeman has been inside libya in tripoli, when you see reports of rebel advances into tripoli, what goes through your mind, ben? >> the incredible progress that's been made. i remember when we went into libya six months ago almost to the day, there was an expectation that the gadhafi regime was in free-fall. what we saw in the subsequent six months was really a difficult and long struggle by the rebels against the gadhafi regime and a struggle to organize themselves because initially they had a lot of enthusiasm and a lot of determination to bring down the regime but very little in the way of organizational ability, weapons, battlefield experience. we've seen over the last six

months that they have gained all of that and the fruit of that is apparent on our tv screen right now. this dramatic push toward tripoli. there is so much talk about an inevitable blood bath in the capital. there have been casualties over the last 24 to 48 hours in tripoli. but certainly what we've seen is it appears an evaporation to some extent of what was one of the arab world's most enduring regimes. >> since 1969 moammar gadhafi in power in libya. he took power as a result of a coo. this is a different battle this isn't a battle that nato can help with. street to street tripoli fighting. this could get extremely bloody.

>> certainly. we need to realize that there are people who until now support moammar gadhafi, but i think what we are seeing right now is a tipping point has been reached that many of the people who had supported moammar gadhafi until now have come to the realization that this is a man on his way out. he's falling. his regime is collapsing. and whether they liked him or not, i think the realization is that there is nothing to be gained by remaining with the collapsing regime. as far as nato is concerned, we have seen really a change in their approach over the last few weeks. i think as a result of mounting political pressure on the main nato participants in this operation, particularly france and italy, there seems to be desire to get this thing done and over with.

initially the mandate and of course until now the mandate is to protect libyan civilians but it also appears that they decided that they just simply have to play the kind of close air support role that the rebels were calling for all along but now that they are in the city itself in tripoli, there is not really much nato can do. this is really a fight between the pro and anti-gadhafi forces. >> i want to update viewers on news coming in from our producer who is, i believe, in western libya. the rebel spokesman for the military council of the western mountain region telling cnn we confirm the arrest of saif al islam and his brother so two of moammar gadhafi's sons apparently captured by rebel forces in libya. i want to ask you not just about the fighting here, ben, but

about really the political organization of this rebel government. once they take control, then what? >> of course that's the big question. we've seen that this is very much even though it's a countrywide rebellion it's people focused on their town and region. we've seen gradually that various parts of libya under rebel control, the western mountains, misratah and it's a slow process where they learned to cooperate. each town would rise up against moammar gadhafi and do what they could to expel his forces from the towns, from the regions, but there was very little in the way of communications and cooperation between the different areas.

we've seen that they have developed a mode of communications. the question is can they form a national government, transitional government that will represent as many libyans as possible because there will be those libyans who remain loyal to moammar gadhafi in much the same way, for instance, some iraqis remained loyal to saddam hussein. >> let me ask you quickly about syria. the president of syria gave a "interview" to two journalists on syrian television today saying he's not going anywhere saying nothing western powers can ask him to do will have any impact promising reforms and committees and reworking of legislation. this all plays into the arab uprising story. one can imagine the syrian president probably watching television right now and watching tripoli fall to the

hands of rebels. >> this is what we're seeing is sort of the harder nuts in the arab world to crack are beginning to crack. moammar gadhafi, hard regimes, hard regimes to resist and hard regimes to bring down. in retrospect if you look at egypt and if you look at tunisia, these were governments tied to the west who received political and economic and military support from the west and the west had a lot of strings to pull, so to speak, in the cases of tunisia and egypt but in the case of syria and libya, it's very much -- of course in the case of libya, nato played a huge role in making this possible but at the end of the day, it's the libyans who did it and the libyans who are doing it at the moment. and certainly leaders like assad

would like to point to western pressure but it's not from the west, it's from homes in the area. >> it's the people of these countries who are doing the work. it's the people who go out despite the fact that it is dangerous and that it is often deadly for them who continue to demonstrate against the regimes and we'll continue to keep our eye on it and bring you the latest headlines in two minutes. stay with us. it's yoplait greek. it has two times the protein of regular yogurt. you'll feel satisfied. [ female announcer ] yoplait greek. it is so good. it's pretty good! but i did. they said i couldn't fight above my weight class. but i did. they said i couldn't get elected to congress. but i did. now i'm trying to make it in music.

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welcome back, everyone. we continue to cover the breaking news out of libya. rebels advancing into tripoli. the big prize for revolutionaries in libya in their sights and within their grasp. we're hearing reports coming to us from rebel organizations in western libya that two of moammar gadhafi's sons have been arrested by the rebels including saif al islam. it's half past midnight in libya where we're following breaking news. rebels officials say two of the sons of moammar gadhafi have been captured.

this is saif al islam captured by rebels forces. taken a look at these rebel forces. this is sky news video from tripoli. people on the street are chanting libya is free, gadhafi needs to go. just moments ago a spokesman for the libyan government called for immediate negotiations and a halt to the rebel assault. now, those forces surround the libyan capital now. the government is conceding that parts of the capital city are no longer under its control. this is a government spokesperson that we've been used to seeing over the last several months in this tripoli hotel housing most of the international reporters covering the libyan conflict from tripoli said that 1,300 people have been killed in fighting over the last 12 hours. and where is moammar gadhafi? that is the big question right now. this man who has ruled libya for

42 years. there was an audio message from gadhafi earlier on state tv. he vowed to fight until the last drop of blood. there are numerous news reports out of libya that some of gadhafi's security forces have resigned. we have another resident in libya on the phone. i understand that you are really only about 15, 17 kilometers to the west of tripoli. what have you seen over the last few hours? >> i just came back home from outside. i was cruising around in the area closest to tripoli and everything is fine. people are happy. they said that have never seen this happy before. and now revolutionariies along with residents are doing checkpoints to make sure things are safe. gadhafi had thrown a lot of weapons in the streets in the past six months.

and now it's an effort to keep the residents safe and their belongings so they are doing that while everyone is celebr e celebrating and everyone is on the streets and they are raising the flag and they are happy. everything is fine. >> people where you are on the outskirts of tripoli talking for u.s. viewers trying to convert 17 kilometers into miles but basically eight or nine miles from tripoli so it's like a suburb of the capital city. people are right now celebrating at half past midnight? >> we've been celebrating since 8:00 p.m. and because around that time we were just being liberated by the revolutionaries and then we heard speakers telling us it's okay to come out and we went out and we exchanged hugs because we were really happy that they are

here finally and we went together to the palace station which is 18 kilometers west of tripoli. it's really famous power station. we went to it and had a big celebration there and we saw a lot of revolutionary people coming and going toward tripoli to liberate as well and we had the happiest times of our lives there. >> the happiest time of your life today? >> yes. because i was born when gadhafi was in power and i have never seen anything different about libya in my life. this is it for libya. this is the happiest time in my life basically. >> these revolutionaries, the rebels, whatever you call them, are you hopeful -- do you trust that they are going to lead the country well and that it will become a democratic country that

it will reach its full potential or if you look at what's going on in egypt or elsewhere, do you have doubts? >> well, i will tell you something. the revolutionaries represent us. they haven't been paid. no one asked them to do this. they volunteered. they want to develop this. this represents libya. the other side which is gadhafi's side, those people are paid. they are looking for extra cash or power to have. so like today one of them is my brother. he came today and i saw him today before heading to tripoli. i trust my brother. i trust the others. >> one of your brothers was one of the fighters is what you're saying? >> the fighters, yes. the freedom fighters, yes. >> you are about ten miles from

tripoli calling this the happiest day of your life. the day that he says his country has been liberated from moammar gadhafi and those who protected him. thanks very much for joining us. the state department has reaction to all of this. let's -- i believe we're going to a break right now? we are going to a break. we'll have reaction from the state department and speak with nicholas burns. stay with us. one day on the red hills of georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. i have a dream today! [ male announcer ] chevrolet is honored to celebrate the unveiling of the washington, d.c., martin luther king jr. memorial. take your seat at the table on august 28th.

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matthew chance joins us now from tripoli. what's happening right now, matthew? >> reporter: it's a very delicate situation. within the past few seconds really or past few minutes we learned security that's been so prevalent around this hotel has all of a sudden decided to leave essentially the government minders who were armed with assault rifles and things like that have departed the hotel now and it's pretty empty in the

lobby apart from a few hotel staff. apart from that, it's completely empty which makes it kind of an uncertain time because obviously we don't know the exact reason why the minders have left with their weapons, the assumption is because the rebels are very close by. what we're expecting -- we can't confirm this will happen -- but what we expect now is rebels will come into the hotel and take over control of it. what we're doing is all of these journalists have corralled themselves on the upper floor of the hotel which we decided was the safest place for us to be. we have these flags saying tv if any indication do come in it's high emotions and adrenaline is throwing after the battles fighting outside perhaps they will see the international press is in this hotel.

>> so you are sort of putting the word tv on white flags to make sure when the rebels make it there that they know who they are dealing with? >> reporter: exactly. obviously these are very dangerous times. we don't know whether it's going to be as clean as i just sort of indicated and whether it will be a swap over with these minders and government gadhafi loyalists leaving and then rebels move in. we actually don't know what's going to happen. it's a very volatile and dangerous situation outside of the hotel for the past 12 hours or so we've been hearing ferocious battles that have been continuing on the streets of tripoli between the various armed groups, gadhafi loyalists and rebels coming in from various different directions. 1,300 people from latest government estimates killed in the past 12 hours. another 5,000 injured. so it's obviously a very

dangerous situation and we're sort of as i said all gathering here in the corridor of the hotel. we have a safe room as well at a location on the top floor and we're waiting for the next development in this fast developing story. >> it's an uncertain time for you. a very tense situation i would imagine. are you still hearing gunfire outside of the hotel and explosions, matthew? >> reporter: no. it's all gone quiet. it's funny. up until a few minutes ago the gunfire was very intense indeed. until a few minutes ago there was very intensive gunfire outside of the hotel. we heard grenades exploding. obviously fierce battles going on. since the minders have left this hotel, the gunmen have left the hotel, it's gotten a lot

quieter. my colleagues are taking photographs of themselves making the decision that perhaps this situation has come to an end. i can you that's not the situation we're in at the moment. we're in a very uncertain situation and we don't know what will come next. >> i can see some of the kitchen staff behind you. it looks like. and people are gathered there huddled together perhaps safety in safety in numbers. is that the calculation you're making there in this very uncertain time? >> yes. and the fighting was so ferocious outside. we were worried the hotel will be mortared. we needed to fine a safe place with the hotel. it was also important for us to coordinate our efforts as much as possible in terms of our security. a number of media organizations are here, and trying to coordinate efforts, because we

want to do one thing. cover the story as safely as possible, and so that's what we're trying to do right now. the situation is developing at such a fast pace, so what is decided to do and that it's quiet, it's difficult to know what the next stage in this story is. >> so you're saying that the government minders, that the hotel security has all basically left, and now you and oh jourth journal ifs are waiting to see what happens next. now, technically you're not under government control anymore? i mean, you are sort of unlike the situation for the last five months, i imagine, not under the control of these government minders anymore? >> reporter: well, not directly, no. i understand from one of my

colleagues who's just told me that there are sill government at the hotel in respect is still gadhafi loyalists on the periphery of the hotel. it's not as if we can wander around. remember, the security situation outside this hotel is very unpredictable as well. it may not be altogether advisable from a security point of view to be out wandering around when the situation is so volatile as it is. as i say, we're just waiting, you see my colleagues behind me. waiting to see what the next develop is. there's some movement downstairs. trying to see what it is from up here is sdifl. a l difficult. the gadhafi loyalists are reluctant to have us film them. i'm being quite careful and sort of staying up here in the

corridor as much as possible. >> right. of course. you don't want to take any risks at this stage. especially considering how volatile it appears the situation is. let me ask you about developments over the last few hours and the reaction from pro-gadhafi developments inside it's hotel. i'm sure they're seeing images on television we've been seeing over the last few hours. rebels advancing in tripoli. people at the capital celebrating. what was their reaction had they saw all this? >> reporter: the people we've been dealing with in the hotel, their reaction has been quite down. they've been very kernds. many have family ties to the gadhafi regime and put their eggs in the basket of colonel ga day gadhafi and are loyal advances, particularly in the east of the city, government officials confirming that the government lost control a few hours ago.

the eastern suburbs of tripoli. as i say, fierce fighting. of course, all areas including the center of the city as well, perceived by the people in the contacts we've had here in the hotel as very negative developments indeed. obviously, the situation in tripoli is much more patchy, much more varied, but the reports west of the city as the rebels have come in from zawiya, they've been greeted by some of the residents and celebrations that the rebels have come in. obviously that's not the case for many -- not the case for -- obviously that's not the case from any of the residents. >> if you need to stop, matthew -- matthew, if you need to stop and listen to what's being said, please, do so. we want you to be safe. we don't want you to broadcast live any images that might get you in trouble at this very crucial stage in this story in tripoli. >> actually, there is still one

gunman downstairs and he's got a green bandanna on and he is one of the people very sensitive about being filmed. you can hear him shouting downstairs. tip my camera. you might be able to see him in the corner. and -- he's idownstairs. i think we're going to be able to talk. >> is it still quiet outside, matthew? >> reporter: it is still quiet outside, yes. the hotel, we're trying to protect ourselves from the potential of being hit by any of the stray bullets or any of the bull tha bullets that may have been directed towards the hotel. it's been tense outside. surprising it is very quiet. as i say, as we see the pro-gadhafi gunmen at it's hotel, under stress that's -- as

i just mentioned. a significant decrease of the amount of firing we've witnessed in the immediate vicinity of the hotel. >> how far are you from where the fighting did take place, or from where the rebel advance did occur today in tripoli? in other words, just trying to figure out the number of miles between where we know the rebels have managed to advance and where you are right now? >> reporter: not far at all. we're talking about just a few minutes in the car. maybe 20 minutes in the car across town. in traffic. it's not very far at all. it's a city of 2 million people, but in terms of its size, it's not that large in terms of its land mass. you can get from one side to the other quickly. talking about rebels coming into the western fringes of the city. talking about a 20-minute drive. talk about rebels holding the eastern suburbs of tripoli. another 20 minutes in the other direction. we're smack in the middle. not just in the active suburbs

we've been hearing the reports and hearing the evidence of the gun fight. it's been all over tripoli over the course of the past -- for the course of the past 24 hours or so. that heavy death toll. 1400 people killed 5,000 injured. the expectation as the fighting continues, that will rise as well. >> for people watching this around the world, and we're continuing to hear, by the way, that gunman you were describing earlier yell. i'm not sure what he's saying. is he having issues with anything that the journalists are doing? i just want to make sure you're as safe as possible, matthew. >> reporter: let me just take a listen. [ speaking in foreign language ] i can't really make out what he was saying, but he was talking about gadhafi. so he was talking about -- what's he talking about?

>> downstairs? >> reporter: yeah. basically he was talking about having the tvs -- >> reporter: upset about the fact we had tv signs up there. he took exception to that for some reason but seems to have been talked down. there's a few journalists downstairs talking to him there, but he seems to have backed off from that. >> describe, again, for all the viewers just joining us, matthew, exactly whatt lly what situation is at the hotel. for all those who haven't been following as closely as we've been reporting the situation in libya, the hotel where international journalists are gathered, heavily monitored by government minders in libya, where the tripoli side of the story is being reported from. tell us exactly hats happening at the hotel right now, matthew. >> reporter: can you repeat that question? tell you the situation here? >> bring us up to date once again on the situation inside

the hotel for you and your colleagues, the other international reporter, at the hotel. >> reporter: well, it's not a. >> situation. it's very tense indeed. over the past couple of -- past half an hour or so we've seen that the majority of the minders who were heavily armed have left the hotel and have been replaced by a sense of insecurity in the hotel. there are a few gunmen still wandering around with green bandannas on and green flags attached, and, you know, at the moment we really don't know what's going to happen next. i have to leave it there. >> thank you. matthew chance reporting live from tripoli. a tense situation with security and government minders, as matthew was reporting, leaving the hotel, leaving journalists, really alone in the hotel. a group of journalists their