LIBYA UPDATE – AT 10:02 A.M. ET:  The Libyan regime of Muammar Gaddafi continues to crumble today, but the exact whereabouts of the cross-dressing head of state have not been offically confirmed:

(Reuters) - Libyan government tanks and snipers put up scattered, last-ditch resistance in Tripoli on Monday after rebels swept into the heart of the capital, cheered on by crowds hailing the end of Muammar Gaddafi's 42 years in power.

The 69-year-old leader, urging civilians to take up arms against rebel "rats", said in an audio broadcast that he was in the city and would be "with you until the end". But there was little sign of popular opposition to the rebel offensive, two of Gaddafi's sons were seized and it was unclear where he was.

Reuters correspondents saw rebel forces hunt sharpshooters from building to building. Sporadic gunfire and shelling kept civilians off the streets, waiting anxiously for the fighting to end after a brief outpouring of jubilation late on Sunday.

"Revolutionaries are positioned everywhere in Tripoli," said a senior rebel in the city, who used the name Abdulrahman.

"But Gaddafi's forces have been trying to resist..."

COMMENT:  BBC reported that Gaddafi is in Algeria, but it's possible he's still looking for places to go.  He apparently has a colorful brochure from Martha's Vineyard. 

It's reported that two of the colonel's sons have been captured by the rebels.  There is much chatter that at least one may well be tried by the International Court of Justice in the Hague, but some rebel groups want him tried in Libya.

Further details as they come in.

August 22, 2011