August 21, 2011 5:45 PM
Muammar Qaddafi's regime is "clearly crumbling"
Libyan rebels run for cover during fighting against forces of the Qaddafi regime, near the Gadayem forest west of Tripoli, August 21, 2011. (FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP/Getty Images)
(CBS/AP)
Last Updated 6:54 p.m. ET
Euphoric Libyan rebels moved into the capital Tripoli on Sunday and moved close to the city's center. The opposition's leaders said Muammar Qaddafi's son and one-time heir apparent, Seif al-Islam, has been arrested. In a statement, the NATO secretary general said the dictator's regime was "clearly crumbling. The sooner Qaddafi realizes that he cannot win the battle against his own people, the better -- so that the Libyan people can be spared further bloodshed and suffering."
CBS News correspondent Jan Crawford reports that along the way of the speedy rebel advance, there was no substantial resistance from the Qaddafi troops. All the evidence suggested the soldiers had ditched their uniforms and had simply scarpered.
"They are running like rats so we are doing very good job now!" screamed one rebel, during a dramatic turning of the tides in the 6-month-old Libyan civil war.
"They will enter Green Square tonight, God willing," said Mohammed al-Zawi, a 30-year-old rebel in the force that was moving in. Green Square has been the site of night rallies by Gadhafi supporters throughout the uprising.
In a desperate plea to his country, Qaddafi called on Libyans to "get out of your homes and stop this from happening. Crawl towards Tripoli. All tribes should take part. Do it or you will become slaves of the French occupiers and their Italian allies. To rebels, return from where you came from. NATO won't protect you from the rage of the Libyan people."
The rebels have claimed they are now in control of most of Tripoli,
The New York Times reports.
The rebels' surprising and speedy leap forward, after six months of largely deadlocked civil war, was packed into just a few dramatic hours. By nightfall, they had advanced more than 20 miles to the edge of Qaddafi's last major bastion of support.
Along the way, they freed several hundred prisoners from a regime lockup. The fighters and the prisoners - many looking weak and dazed and showing scars and bruises from beatings - embraced and wept with joy.
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