Libyan rebels have this afternoon laid siege on a cluster of apartment buildings in Tripoli where, they suspect, Muammar Gaddafi and some of his sons may be hiding, Reuters reported.

The agency said fierce fire is being exchanged between Gaddafi loyalists and the rebels.

"They are together, they are in a small hole. Today we finish, today we will end it, rebel fighter Muhammed Gomaa was quoted as saying.

The apartments are close to the Gaddafi compound which was overrun by the rebels two days ago.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.