has the opposition been lured into a trap as saif gadhafi claims? this afternoon, president obama called on the missing dictator to resurface and surrender. >> although it's clear gadhafi's rule is over, he still has the opportunity to reduce further bloodshed by explicitly relinquishing power to libya. >> that's president obama this afternoon. he called the situation "fluid." and it is certainly that. the administration is preparing for a post gadhafi libya. the "wall street journal" reporting that the u.s. has promised the council to quickly free up billions of dollars in frozen libyan assets if and when gadhafi finally falls. more on that shortly from our people on the ground. first a quick look at the opposition's road to tripoli and, they hope, to victory. after weeks of intense fighting, the coastal city of zawiya and the next target, tripoli. on sunday, the advance began and the rebels were surprised at how easily they were able to infiltrate the city. >> the road was completely clear and we were able to get here in no time flat. we're just se

has the opposition been lured into a trap as saif gadhafi claims? or will they ultimately secure the forces of the capital. this afternoon, the president called on them to resurface and surrender. >> while it's clear that gadhafi's rule is over, he has the opportunity to reduce further bloodshed by explicitly relinquishing power. and lay down their arms for the sake of libya. >> he called the situation "flu "fluid." we got a hint that the administration is preparing for a post gadhafi libya. the "wall street journal" says the u.s. council has promised to quickly free up billions of dollars in frozen libyan assets if and when gadhafi falls. more on that and late developments from our people on the ground but first a quick look at the opposition's road to tripoli and they hope, to victory. the coastal city of zawiya and the next target, tripoli. on sunday, the advance began and the rebels were surprised at how easily they were able to infiltrate the city. >> the road was completely clear and we were able to get here in no time flat. we're just seeing t

>> it was about, you know, three or four hours ago, shortly before saif gadhafi turned up at the hotel. previous to that there have been enormous gun fights. ferocious gun fights. grenades exploding. huge explosions of all kinds around the come pound, the moammar gadhafi compound. it's been under heavy bombing the last several months but more particularly, the last 72 hours as the rebels entered tripoli. but after saif gadhafi made his appearance at the riox hotel the whole situation seems to have changed. we now have electricity. a few hours ago we were sitting in the searing heat because there were no air conditioners or running water. it's pitch black in the hotel. no lights outside and no lights inside and now, the generators have gone back on again and it seems that, at least in this area, this pocket of tripoli, around the rio dpchlt hotel and the gadhafi compound the government have really succeeded in defending this pocket and have re-established their control. control, by the way anderson, they never really lost in this particular area. >> matthew chance there. as both sides f

rebel officials say two more of moammar gadhafi's sons have been captured. this is one of them. saif al islam gadhafi a short time ago, a spokesman called for immediate negotiations and a halt to the rebel assault. [ chanting ] >> this is video from our colleagues at sky news in trip l. people on the streets chanting "libya is free. gadhafi needs to go." rebel forces say they're now in control of most parts of the capital and the government itself is conceding that parts of the city are no longer under its control. it says also that 1,300 people have been killed over the past 12 hours. what about moammar gadhafi and all of this? there is so much uncertainty surrounding this situation on the ground. where are rebels now? how much of the city have they captured and where is the man who was in charge of libya for 42 years? moammar gadhafi. there was an audiomessawed audi he vowed to fight to the drop of blood. now numerous news reports out of libya security forces are surrendering. perhaps they think it's not worth the fight. the rebel fighters pushed towards tripoli after seizing the o

we're seeing saif gadhafi in tripoli again. certainly, this is something that's stunning to people but it's not something that their momentum has in any way been slowed down. >> obviously, the issue of credibility. you've spent a while in benghazi looking very carefully at the rebel leadership. on the whole, have they been credible? have they overclaimed from time to time? >> well, sure from time to time they have over -- there have been claims in the past that moammar gadhafi had fled to tripoli, that he had gone to some other sort of country, claimed that then proved not to be true. there have also been some claims about progress made on the battlefield in the past. something you feel they were not as well-informed as you think they might have been being the leadership here. one of the things to keep in mind, the leadership -- he's still very weak. you're talking about factions, various different groups of fighters from different groups, some of which have different interests as well. so it's not clear how well the leadership

matthew with more on his strange encounter with saif gadhafi. >> all this cur fufle in the lobby of the hotel. i was woken up around my room, ran downstairs and everyone pointing at this white armored land cruiser saif is the in there. i walked in, knocked on the door, he was about to drive off. it opened up, i said saif, i need to see you with my own eyes. i leaned in, i turned on the light on the ceiling of the -- in the back seat of this land cruiser. there he was. i took a photograph of him. and i asked him about where his father was. he said all of his family are in tripoli. he went on to say that, you know, it was all a trick, the rebels coming in to tripoli, that we've now broken their backbone. and we've given them a hard time. he then invited me to get into the car and to drive around tripoli so he could prove how, you know, how much it was under the government's control. but before i had to chance to do that, the door closed and he drove off. but it was quite incredible because i mean, as we've been discussing, we all thought the rebels had reported, the icc, international cri

they're not sure what to expect. >> sara, we know two of gadhafi's sons have been arrested, saif al-islamnd saadi. do you know where moammar gadhafi might be now? >> reporter: no, but one of the main rumors going around now -- and we heard people celebrating in zawiyah because they believed moammar gadhafi himself was arrested. there was quite a bit of firing in the air, cheering. we heard children and women cheering and chanting "free libya, free libya," but that died down because everyone said, oh, that might be a rumor. his son was arrested. so far nobody has heard from moammar gadhafi in the last hour or so. we are wondering where he is and so are the rebels. >> rumors are flying around about gadhafi that he's escaped to algeria, africa, that he's hiding out in tripoli. we are standing by to get accurate information. sara, hold on for a moment. general wesley clark is joining us now. general clark, nato obviously very much involved in this operation. the nato air power. but ground forces as well training the rebels. what can you tell us about what nato troops have done on the ground a

there you see saif gadhafi appearing just a short time ago. we'll have the latest at 10:00 on ac 360. "piers morgan tonight" starts now. >>> anderson, thanks very much. let's go straight to sara sidner. sara, if you can hear me, what is the latest there right now? >> reporter: we were hearing loud booms, loud blasts, a lot of rapid gunfire. we saw tracer rounds coming over our heads very, very close to us, literally right over us. we had to take cover. so we started to wonder what exactly was going on, if there was some sort of fight that started up again in this town, which is just about 30 miles from tripoli. as it turned out as the night went on, even though that went on about an hour and a half, we finally got in touch with rebel sources who told us, no, actually they are celebrating. yes, they're blowing off things like mortars but they are celebrating still. what we do know, there were gun battles in the city of tripoli today. we drove into the main drag from the west. that is where a lot of businesses normally are, a lot of commerce tak

prosecutors for the international criminal court say they hope to put saif gadhafi on trial, but a libyanbel spokesman said the libyan people should be the ones to decide whether to handover gadhafi's sons to the icc. >>> it's been startling for all of us watching from afar to see the libyan rebels move so quickly to tripoli over the weekend. how could it have happened so fast? jonathan mann spoke with nic robertson in washington. >> reporter: tripoli had, while we were there, while the nato bombing began and gadhafi's forces still controlled the capital, a ring of steel around it. the brigade there was controlling the capital and was able to draw on munitions from multiple bases from inside the city which have become nato's principle targets inside the city, and sarah seidner came right past one of the most feared bases of gadhafi's brigades controlled by his son, hamis, which was originally the force that went into zawiya. the fact that there wasn't resistance there, the fact this ring of steel that we had seen tanks, armored personnel carriers evaporated gives rise to the perception of

the rebel forces say two of gadhafi sons sons have in fact been captured. this is one of them, saif al islam gadhafi. the hague has an arrest warrant for them. rebel forces are now in the heart of tripoli, including in green square. sara seidner is almost there right now. we're going to be going to her in just a moment. libyan government concedes that parts of the city are no longer under its control. it says 1,300 people have been killed over the past 12 hours. a government spokesman has called for immediate negotiation and a halt to the rebel assault. the libyan rebels say some gadhafi loyalists are still holding out in the capital of tripoli. but let's go to my colleague matthew chance. he and other universities have been watching these fast-moving developments unfold at a hotel where they were. matthew, tell us what it's like where you are right now. we're worried but but set the scene. >> reporter: well, it's a very strange vantage point we have on this tripoli crisis. as the gun battles rage outside as crowds celebrate in some parts of tripoli, we're still confined to this hot

while this is all going on, taking place, gadhafi's son saif al islam made a surprise appearance, something of an embarrassment to the rebel movement. he showed up at the hotel which is also controlled by the government, very close to gadhafi's compound and he addressed some of the western journalists saying there under government supervision, under government control. saif al islam said not only is he not in custody but his government is still in power and will end this rebel i don't know soon. that seems unlikely but the government is making a final stand. it can still give statements but its ability to move freely in the city has been cut off. chris? >> thanks, richard. >>> up next, we're continuing to follow this developing news out of libya. the war that seemed almost over could be heading toward a long and bloody standoff in tripoli. >>> after yesterday's we've got them, we don't have them mix up with gadhafi's son, can the rebels be trusted. >>> plus today's "the daily rundown" geek out. we're busting out the ipad for a look at the primary states where they vote early and often. what

the international criminal court at the hague says moammar gadhafi, his son saif al islam gadhafi, andligence officers systematically murdered and persecuted civilians. they have been charged with crimes against humanity. moammar gadhafi's whereabouts are unknown but saif gadhafi is now in cut difficult libyan rebel forces. talks are under way between the transitional national council of libya and the international criminal court to hand saif gadhafi over. do you believe that he will ultimately be transferred, that it's just a matter of time to transfer saif al gadhafi? >> as i indicated, there are legal obligations that they have to cooperate with the icc, and previously they had indicated their intention to fully cooperate. >> reporter: according to the arrest warrant, saif gadhafi exercised control over crucial parts of the state apparatus, including finance and logistics and that he conceived and orchestrated a plan to deter and quell by all means the civilian demonstrations against gadhafi's regime. moammar gadhafi and abdullah al sanusi are accused of international criminal games

recapping this hour's breaking news, moammar gadhafi's sons say he made an appearance outside a hotel more than a day after rebel forces captured him. saifher, is still in tripoli. he also told reporters rebels had not in fact taken over 90% of tripoli. always an interesting situation over there. we have reporters all over the place and here. we want to check in with pentagon correspondent chris lawrence and foreign affairs correspondent jill dougherty at the state department. jill, let me begin with you. you've been reporting that in the final -- even up to the final moments, moammar gadhafi was reaching out trying to buy time. tell us about these negotiations, if they even were -- if they even got to that point. >> well, it was people who were close to gadhafi. six people in fact who had been in contact with u.s. officials before and we are told by jeff feldman, the assistant secretary of state for near east affairs that all of a sudden there were these frantic calls coming from these six men. they were saying, look, we want to negotiate. we want to negotiate. and when it came down to it, u.s. officials said negotiate over what? they d

who saw saif gadhafi herself. we've been hearing over the few days that the libyan government is crumbling but there's enough grain rebels that claim that they are complete control of tripoli that it was much about the prize to the surprise of all the foreign journalists here in the rick perry how it went by please i'm sorry i at the hotel. with you on boy and he gave an interview he did maybe also pick some of it with him for a drive through the b.p. where they were taken the the way from and then they they both thousands of people in the in the area and the port that the libyan government report that a number of the people from tribe the quote the country have come into the capital that this struggle here began the rebels. are very much relaxed in high spirit in the fear that the libyan government. are winning against the rebels and then we also have been that mohammed gadhafi. mama gadhafi doesn't run. he was reported to have been caught that has been released by his daughter by the comment gadhafi i mean at th

up earlier we managed to speak on the phone with independent journalist lizzie phelan who saw saif gadhafi herself. been hearing over the few days that the libyan government is crumbling about this and i've trained the rebels that claim that they are in complete control of tripoli so it was much about the pride of the part of the foreign. power went by probably very dark at the hotel. honestly i think david if you don't know if you also took some of that with him for a drive. where they were taken to be the way some of them they thought thousands of people in the area and purport that the libyan government report that a number of these are people from tribe to quote the country have come in for their capital support this struggle here against the rebels. very much relaxed in high spirit and the fear is that the libyan government. are winning against the referee and then we also have that mohammed is that. gadhafi that the son he was reported to have been caught it has been released by his daughter by that i mean gadhafi i mean he apparently paid to be in television so of course all of thes

up earlier we managed to speak on the phone with independent journalist lizzie phelan who saw saif gadhafi herself. you say that it would be in the document is crumbling plain rebel that claim that they are in complete control of tripoli with much of the price. applied to the current time. went by probably to our hotel. probably i'm david. rivkin right. where they would take them. some of them paid a thousand people in this area and. the men and. lot of the people from private. capital. here again. very much relaxed then high theory. that if you can comment on this be a winning the rebel and then we'll have to. be ready by gadhafi i mean i've already paid the libyan. so of course he's. ok well that about what's happening here in the capital. and on our website r.t. dot com we've got more interviews with witnesses from the next office hotel in tripoli. and you who is responsible for us said return going so obviously this. is are volunteers the soldiers returned from. the big. picture of lost confidence trying to say they've been talking to us by rebels and or afraid for their lives to get m

earlier we did manage to speak on the phone with independent journalist lizzie phelan who saw saif gadhafi herself. creepy hearing over the past few days that a libyan government is crumbling a position of playing the rebels are claiming they are in the control of tripoli was not surprised as a surprise of all the foreign journalists there it's a place where i felt like so dock at the hotel. which. i gave an interview he also took some of the time live with him for a drive. where they were taken. by some of them say they saw thousands of people in this area and supporters and media and government and that a number of his people from tried to cross the country have come into the capital to put this struggle here against the rebel side and is very much relaxed in high spirits he insisted that the libyan government and volunteers are winning against the rebels and then we also have the news that mohammed gadhafi his brother and mom adopted at the time he was reported to have been captured has been released by his other brother ahmed gadhafi and he apparently gave a speech on libyan television

earlier we did manage to speak on the phone with independent journalist lizzie phelan who saw saif gadhafi herself. we've been hearing over the past few days that the libyan government is crumbling opposition have claimed the rebels have claimed they have the control of tripoli so it was not surprised by the surprise of all the foreign journalists in the place where five hundred one showed up at the hotel. honeyboy i gave an interview he did and he also took some of the time with him for a drive through just to see where they were taken. by some of them say they saw thousands of people in this in the area and so forth that the libyan government that a number but it is a people from tribes across the country have come into the capital to put the struggle here against the rebels. very much relaxed and high spirit he says that the libyan government and volunteers are winning against the rebels and then we also have the news that mohammed gadhafi his brother and mom i could ask about the son who was reported to have been captured has been released by his daughter by the comments gadhafi i mean

colonel gadhafi has a son saif made a surprise public appearance proving wrong reports that rebels have captured him he ended the hotel with foreign journalists are holed up we managed to speak on the phone with independent journalist lucy fella who saw saif gadhafi herself. be here in a. few days that it be in the document it crumbling. rebel to claim that they are in complete control of tripoli that it would not surprise. the foreign. power went by probably at the hotel. with huge problem boy and gave an interview. with him right. where they were taken. some of them say they saw thousands of people in this area and. men and. and but it is the people from tripe across the country have come into the capital. here again. very much in high spirit. that the libyan government and politics are winning again and then we'll have to. pick it up about the son who was reported to have been kept pretty. good happy i mean he apparently gave. them so of course he's been. ok well that's not what's happening here in the capital. and on our website we've got more interviews with the witnesses from the

reportedly, gadhafi's son saif has been captured by the rebels. dhafi has fled to algeria. who may or may not hand him over to the international criminal court where he's wanted on crimes against humanity. the death penalty there. is cheering in many parts of tripoli. these are some of the individuals that have taken to the streets there. familiar scene, as other governments in the arab spring have fallen over the course of the last seven, eight months. libya would appear to be the latest. >> heather: joining us on the phone former vice chief of staff of the army and fox news military analyst, general jack keen. thank you very much for taking time to join us today. a lot of significant developments unfolding as we speak in libya. i would like to ask you first, about the reported arrest of muammar gadhafi's son saif? >> well, this was somewhat inevitable. gadhafi and his leaders knew they could not destroy the rebels, given the fact that nato airpower was there. what gadhafi had that was preserving his power was his military ground forces. of those

it is still unclear, we know that matthew chance had a chance to see one of gadhafi's sons, saif al islam, yesterday who had reportedly been captured by the rebels, very much free, alive, and running around with weapons and supporters. it's still very unclear, it's uncertain right now where the gadhafi family is, what state they're in, whether or not they actually control anything inside

was restored he managed to speak on the phone with independent journalist sleezy phone the saw saif gadhafi herself. well they have been. right of course we've been hearing over. they that the government is crumbling and of claim that they are in complete control of tripoli but it would not apply. to our hotel. we. probably i gave an interview. with him drive. where they would take him. but some of them pay the thousands of people in this area. but it is the people from private property at the capital. here again. very much in high spirits in that libyan government is awaiting it and we both are hoping that behind it is that. mcafee that he was reporting that has really by gadhafi and at the a party to be and that if. so of course he's. completely. ok well the about what's happening here in the capital. a long gone she r t dot com for more i witness accounts from tripoli. people who. even went through. this. journalist staying in a central tripoli hotel say to have been targeted by rebels to get more information from inside the leading capital at r t dot com. all the fight is not over in tr

control in most of this city they are actually right now controlling most of the can treat as about saif gadhafi is not at all in a position to negotiate or to to offer something to the rubbles and that's clear and this is what the rubbles have been saying these days meanwhile. claiming that they are preparing for what they call the final battle an assault on khadafi is last stronghold could his home town of a city which is six hundred kilometers east of the capital tripoli they are now just waiting for nato to clear the path towards and as far as we can understand these operations on the city of sirte is just a matter of time right now if all only and the reason. there is a chance that they will not be the operation only if. the negotiations with those who support gadhafi in the capital city agreed to surrender and as far as we know in the rebels are saying that because she's with them underway right now but. if they don't agree with the next two days the mill will start and he says what about ordinary people in the city are there any signs of life returning to normality for them or is this loo

earlier we managed to speak on the phone with independent journalist lizzie phelan who is sore saif gadhafi herself. there have been some extraordinary events right of course we've been hearing over the few days that the libyan government is crumbling about this enough claim the rebels that claim that they i mean i complete control of tripoli so it was much about the pride of the pride that all the foreign. power went by but i'm sorry i thought. you probably i gave an interview you did make people think that some of it with him for a drive. where they would take him to be the way some of them say they thought thousands of people in this area and of course that the libyan government report that a number of these are people from tribe that quote the country have come into the capital. here and again the rebels. are very much relaxed. hi. the fear is that the libyan government are winning against the rebels and then we all thought how could that mohammed gadhafi. moammar gadhafi doesn't run he was reported to have been caught that has been released by the by that comment gadhafi i mean he appa

holed up earlier we managed to speak on the phone with independent journalist lizzy phelan who saw saif gadhafi herself. we've been hearing over the few days that the libyan government is crumbling and have claimed rebels that claim that they are in complete control of tripoli so it was much about apply to the part of all the foreign and the rick perry how it went by friday at the hotel. where you from the boy who gave an interview he did and he also put some of it with him for a drive through the fifty where they were taken to be the area where some of them say they thought thousands of people in this area and of course that the libyan government report that a number but it is a people from tribe to quote the country have come into the capital to support the struggle here again the rebels. very much relaxed in high spirit. that the libyan government are winning against the rebels and then we also have the news that mohammed gadhafi. moammar gadhafi doesn't run he was reported to have been captured has been released by his other brother comment gadhafi and he apparently gave the libyan televisi

take place in libya the bloodshed could have been stopped or his some of what you'll hear from saif gadhafi later this hour. you got messages from. many countries. many news from north korea. this is your mistake you give up your weapons of mass destruction you are developing a new start you will be here and got a friend with the worst and this that is all so it means this is a message to everybody that you have you strong you never trust. you have to be. under. the economic situations agency is growing with that everything is being investigated both in the us and europe and there's a massive reversal of fortune the same as in standard and poor's parent. for the past week while investors keep pouring money into u.s. treasury bonds. investigates with the credit ratings are actually credible breaking news the united states has just lost its top notch aaa credit rating from it was the downgrade heard round the world in a strong reaction to the rating downgrade gold and u.s. well it's dead standard and poor's took the u.s. from straight aaa student to one not below for the first time ever bad m

journalists station we managed to speak on the phone with independent journalist lizzie phelan who saw saif gadhafi herself. that there had been some extraordinary event tonight of course we've been hearing over the past few days that the libyan government is crumbling the opposition has claimed the rebels are saying that they are going to take control of tripoli was not. surprised at all the foreign. power by far is actually docked at the hotel. with. one voice and he gave an interview he also took some of the time that we can drive. where they were taken to the area but some of them paid a thousand people in this area and supported the libyan government and that number but it is people from tried to cross the country have come into the capital to put the struggle here against the rebels. very much relaxed and high spirits insisted that the libyan government and volunteers are winning against the rebels and then we also have the news that mohammed gadhafi his mom i could see the signs he was reported to have been captured has been released by his other brother. and he apparently takes the televisi

he said very clearly to me that it was his brother, saif gadhafi, it was very clear that he was essentiallyntry on a minute-by-minute basis. his father, moammar gadhafi, may have the overall picture but it's saif, the man now captured by rebels. this will leave the father much more isolated than he was before. he would have lost key people and lost the ability to perhaps control and influence his ability to even escape the city, if he is still hiding out there right now. >> let's talk about that, nic. let's say gadhafi remains in hiding for a week or two or a month. does it really matter as far as the state that libya is in now? will these opposition groups just go ahead and build a new government, no matter if they find moammar gadhafi tomorrow or next month? >> certainly he has lost his ability to run the country. he certainly retains the ability at the moment, it appears, to at least disrupt the peace that the rebels are going to try to put in place. in terms of a political building, political, to bring different groups together, it won't impede that physically. while he is still at larg

power was restored we managed to speak on the phone with independent journalist lazy found the saw saif gadhafi herself. so there has been some extraordinary event tonight of course we've been hearing over the past few days that the libyan government is crumbling the opposition have claimed the rebels have claimed that they are in the control of tripoli but it was not by surprise the surprise of all the foreign. by far is i'm sorry at the hotel. with. convoy i gave an interview he did and he also took some of that done with him for a drive to fifty where they were taken to the area some of them say they saw thousands of people in this area and suppose that the libyan government. but it is a people from tribes across the country have come into the capital to support the struggle here against the rebel side and is very much relaxed in high spirits he says that the libyan government and by that he is winning against the rebels and then we also have the news that mohammed gadhafi has brought on the gadhafi that the son who was reported to have been captured has been released by he's got a brother t

international community, they lead the libyan people for this fight to get rid of this gadhafi and they succeed. that's our main goal. saifmohammad, all this, this is the other issue. >> so you're looking for all these sons in addition to moammar gadhafi. if you find them you'll arrest them. >> of course. of course. >> you'll treat them humanely, i assume. >> this is the call from everybody, not only me but the tnc, dr. dabril. he made all these calls. we have to present to the world that we are a civilized people, we have to deal completely different than what gadhafi did to his -- >> did you see the pictures of that compound? they just ran in, they did an unbelievable job ransacking that place but coming out with files and all sorts of other stuff. it almost liked like they were looting that presidential compound. >> i've been there a few times to the place but i've never been inside. just in the offices where gadhafi -- >> and this is obviously not a highly-trained military that you have. these are an of lot of people who were engineers or scientists or teachers and all of a sudden they took up arms, learned how to use

was restored we managed to speak on the phone with an apparent journalist sleezy felon who saw saif gadhafi herself. so there had been some extraordinary event tonight of course we've been hearing over the last few days that the libyan government is crumbling the position of the rebel detained they are in the control of tripoli so it was not a surprise to the surprise of all the foreign. power went by but eventually docked at the hotel. with. convoy and he gave an interview to be done with the some of the time with him for a dry fifty where they were taken to the area some of them say they saw thousands of people in this area and support the libyan government and. a number of people from tribes across the country have come into the capital to support the struggle here against the rebels but very much relaxed and high spirit insisted that the libyan government and volunteers are winning against the rebels and then we also have the news that the hobbit gadhafi has brought home a good half of a son who was reported to have been captured has been released by his other brother ahmed good afterno

international leaders talking about a new political era and rebels bragging they had captured gadhafi's son. then saif appeared overnight and said he lured them into a trap. as we look at the live pictures out of tripoli, we still don't know if gadhafi is in his compound or not but nato jets are flying low over his compound. at least one explosion has been reported. nato won't confirm any bombing, however. and rebels are engaged in fierce fighting near the compound as well. as we heard just a moment ago, a rebel official reporting they have actually breached the gates there. we are hitting the story hard with multiple correspondents on the ground. matthew chance in the heart of tripoli. arwa damon reporting from the city's airport and sarah sidener and frederik pleitgen is in ben gaza. state to matthew chance who is caught up in a pretty dangerous situation and so dangerous we are not able to bring him up live at this point. he did file this report, i'd say, less than an hour ago. here it is. >> reporter: i'm in this hotel, rixos hotel the center of the compound of moammar gadhafi. all morning ferocio

you know we managed to speak on the phone with independent journalist lizzie phelan who is sort saif gadhafi herself. but there have been some extraordinary events right of course we've been hearing over the few days that the libyan government is crumbling about this and have claimed their rebel their claim that they are i mean i complete control of tripoli so it was much about the price of the fire the fire and and the rick perry how it went by police i'm sorry you are at the hotel. you probably boy he gave an interview he did maybe some of it with him for a drive through the b.p. where they would take him to be the way some of them say they saw thousands of people in the area and propose that the libyan government report that a number of these are people from tribe to quote the country have come in for their capital support this struggle here again the rebels. very much relaxed in high spirit. that the libyan government are winning against the rebels and then we all thought how could that mohammed get that. could offer. he was reported to have been caught it has been released by his daught

you had this extraordinary encounter with saif gadhafi. tell me what happened. >> reporter: it was very strange indeed, piers. he was expected at a press conference earlier in the evening about, 11:30 in the night local time. we were told he was going to turn up and give us a little briefing, but he didn't turn up, he was a no-show so we all assumed this was just spin on the part of the gadhafi regime, that he really was in custody of the rebels. they insisted that he wasn't. a few hours later, 1:30 in the morning here local time, so a couple of hours ago. i was woken up out of my room, ran downstairs and everyone was pointing at this white armored land cruiser saying saif, he's in there, he's in there. so i walked up and knocked on the door, he was about to drive off. i knocked on the door. it opened up and i said saif, i need to see you with my own eyes. i leaned in and turned on the light on the ceiling on the back seat of this land cruiser and there he was. so i took a photograph of him. i asked him about where his father was. he said

. >> in terms of the late reports that we've had, we have had reports earlier today gadhafi's son saif was in rebel custody, that he had been arrested. that it, in fact, a traitor among the ranks in the gadhafi loyalist military had turned him over to rebel forces. we're now seeing footage of him that appears this evening. have you heard anything about the veracity of these reports? >> yeah, i can confirm that he's free. hi a talk with a high-level rebel commander and he told me earlier that saif was definitely not in their hand. he was criticizing the rebel political leaders for bringing out this news. he said, if we would have had saif gadhafi in our hands, we would have paraded him through town and put him on libyan court instead of sending him to the international court in the hague, something that someone within that rebel council apparently said. >> i know you spent much of the day with rebel forces in tripoli today. what happened to the group of rebels you were with? >> well, while i was interviewing this commander and he was giving me that 90% of the city was in their hands, fi

control of the town is a key step for rebels who plan to advance from vera to the capital tripoli gadhafi son saif al islam says a fighting in libya will continue until the country is quote liberated the ongoing civil war started over four months ago and has claimed the lives of an estimated two thousand people. colombian authorities have captured two suspected leaders of a cocaine operation involving the transfer of twenty tons of drugs per year to the

. >> that's saif gadhafi appearance, one of the strangest things to come out of libya, missy, thank you for joining me and please stay safe. >>> more specifically, what is this mean for the fragile and eroding nuclear nonproliferation regime? in between the chapters of gadhafi's life, there was a brief period in which he was america's prodigal son. u.s. and u.n. pressure led to libya dropping its nuclear program in 2003, a victory much celebrated by the bush administration in a development that was awarded with the dropping of sanctions against libya and even a visit from one senator john mccain who tweeted in august 2009 "late evening with colonel gadhafi at his ranch in libya, interesting meeting with an interesting man." all this attention that was lavished on gadhafi was predicated on this quid pro kuo, but gadhafi realized this was by no means steadfast. here's a great piece of tape of him in syria in march 2008, 15 months after saddam hussein was executed. [ speaking in a foreign language ] >> that gadhafi has a point. i want you to put yourselves in the shoes of a depraved death

backed out by nato airstrikes rebel claims that they controlled most of the city and had captured gadhafi son saif have now been proved to be incorrect. secret assistance british intelligence has reportedly planned at the end game for gadhafi regime guiding the rebels and their push on tripoli more u.k. military personnel are said to be on standby in the mediterranean to boost the. e.u. all of john's flight back to libya on a red carpet laid out by a self-proclaimed new government keen to reward those who helped to oust gadhafi reignited the debate about nato as a real motivation for intervening. and libyans joined in the jubilation anticipating could offer useful but skepticism that it may be too early to celebrate is just as widespread on this point to the post revolution of already in nearby egypt which has yet to turn over power to the people. are located those are the headlines here on our next to your world of sport news seems that we are in the wrong line of work here russia is set to make one footballer the highest paid player in the world higher or yes that's right this year the result i

you had this extraordinary encounter we are saif gadhafi. tell me what happened. >> it was very strange, indeed, piers. -- >> local time and we're told he was going to give us a briefing which would have been surprising, obviously. but he didn't turn up. he was a no-show so we all kind of assumed it was spin on the part of the gadhafi regime and he really was in custody but they insisted he wasn't. a few hours later, 1:30 local time, a couple hours ago, all this fuss in the lobby of the hotel. i was woken up in my room and everyone was pointing at this white armored land cruiser and they're saying saif is in there. i walked up and knocked on the door, he was about to drive off. i knocked on the door. and it opened up and i said, saif, i want to see you with my own eyes. they turned on the lights in the back seat of the land cruiser. there he was. i took a photograph of him and asked him about where his father was and he said all of his family are in tripoli and went on to say it was all a trick, the rebels coming into tripoli, that we've now

same goes for saif gadhafi showed up outside that hotel in tripoli monday night. the third son mohammad also escaped. nick robertson joins us live in libya with more on his exchange with saadi gadhafi. nick, what is he saying in these e-mails? >> reporter: it started off i sent him e-mails asking him can you talk? i want to talk to you. and i was kind of surprised hearing that he'd been captured to get an answer back. and he said, look, i want to negotiate a ceasefire in tripoli, a city of 2 million people. he said, i don't want this to turn into somalia. i want this to be -- i don't want there to be seas of blood here in the coming days. and i want to help in these negotiations. he said he has reached out to washington, has reached out to nato. and this is -- and he want help in doing, this anderson. >> and now he's just sent you another e-mail. what does that say? >> reporter: well, there have been reports this afternoon that in tripoli he was about to be captured. rebel forces had gone into one of the big hotels in the center of the city, the corinthia, to try

it's got the rebels on the back foot, that it's broken the back of the rebels is the phrase that saif gadhafi described cancer offensive that he said gadhafi's troops were engaged in. but that's clearly not true. you can listen to the gunfire behind me. that's not hostility, it is celebration gunfire and it's been going on in the city for days upon days upon days. it's difficult, you know, to keep on saying that you're in control of the place when the reality is, is that your forces are nowhere to be seen. and so if there are still, you know, die hard loyalists to colonel gadhafi, and we understand there are still people fighting for him in various parts of the country, that must be because they're tied to him in some other way, not just because they don't know the reality anymore. >> our matthew chance in tripoli, a free man there tonight. we are thrilled, and once we stop talking to you, i hope you gettam am get some rest. you'll hear the rest of matthew's harrowing story inside that hotel not allowed to leave, later on in the broadcast. >>> in eastern libya, they are calling oil workers to

same goes for saif gadhafi showed up outside that hotel in tripoli monday night. e opposition says the third son mohammad also escaped. nick robertson joins us live in libya with more on his exchange with saadi gadhafi. nick, what is he saying in these e-mails? what is he saying? >> reporter: it started off i sent him e-mails asking him can you talk? i want to talk to you. and i was kind of surprised hearing that he'd been captured to get an answer back. and he said, look, i want to negotiate a ceasefire in tripoli, a city of 2 million people. he said, i don't want this to turn into somalia. i want this to be -- i don't want there to be seas of blood here in the coming days. and i want to help in these negotiations. he said he has reached out to washington, has reached out to nato. and this is -- and he want help in doing, this anderson. >> and now he's just sent you another e-mail. what does that say? >> reporter: well, there have been reports this afternoon that in tripoli he was about to be captured. rebel forces had gone into one of the big hotels in the center

moammar gadhafi's son turned up free and defiant last night at a tripoli hotel. yesterday rebel leaders said they had captured saifm. meanwhile moammar gadhafi's whereabouts remain unknown this morning. but his son said he is safe. >>> and gaining strength. hurricane irene intensifying as it makes its way through the caribbean and now threatens to strike the u.s. mainland by later this week. >>> we've been hearing for months about the expected big drop in gas prices. now, by the way, at a national average of $3.58 a gallon they've come down some from their peak. but the price of crude has dropped a lot more. so why is gas still so high? mark strassmann takes a look. >> love you. all right. >> reporter: odetta mohammed is a single mom, a registered nurse and a frustrated commuter. she drives 70 miles a day and spends $80 a week on gas. >> look at this! my god! >> reporter: you think between the oil companies, and the convenience stores, that you're always getting the best possible price? >> no, of course not. don't quite understand the phenomenon when the gas prices in barrels, the price of gas is going down yet th

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 taking place. particularly around gadhafi's own compound in the center of the city. but so far you can see there is incredible enthusiasm here. people have been coming out into the streets, firing guns in the air. we've seen people drop to their knees, kissing the ground. fireworks in the sky. this all began yesterday, w

into the compound and that kind of wild exubration on the streets but we also saw last night that saif gadhafiking free and after we'd been told that he had been captured. how damaging do you think that is to, first of all, the rebels' credibility, second of all, their communication? i mean, something was clearly wrong there. what does it tell you about the rebel faction? >> it does suggest something was wrong. but i don't think it's a mortal or fatal blow to the rebels, their cause or their standing to the west. i mean, all of that is confused. here you've got two factions, neither of which will win any prizes for being well organized. so, you've got the stories coming out, and they turn out to be not true. it doesn't help. but, again, i'm willing to go ahead and be fairly tolerant about this knowing how confused these kinds of situations can really be. >> and they look confused. >> right. >> you sort of see them play out on tv. >> it really does. >> it's startling. there's been a lot of talk we've heard from intelligence committee members worried about mustard gas, worried about stockpiles,