Tripoli has been isolated from the rest of the world as access into and out of the besieged capital was blocked by Muammar Gaddafi’s forces in the past hours.
“Gaddafi’s people have surrounded the city and will not allow anyone in or out,” said Salah Bin Hussein, a Libyan from Tripoli who lives in Malta. Roadblocks have been set up on a border surrounding the city, even blocking the road to Tunisia, which until recently was an easy escape route from the capital.
The authorities are denying flights to foreigners attempting to leave.
A 38-year-old businessman, who would only be named as Fuad for fear of reprisals, compared today’s Tripoli to the situation in Afghanistan. People are being stopped and searched as soon as they get out of their homes and their cars are inspected thoroughly.
The New York Times has reported that the UN planned evacuating thousands of foreigners from Tripoli, probably by sea, as rebels closed in on the city. Libyan people who spoke to The Times described the six-month civil war as “turning into a bloodbath with the army forces bombing left, right and centre”.
“The last battle will be fought in Tripoli in the holy month of Ramadan. Several battles won in Ramadan have gone down in history. This month is really blessed because we have made huge progress in a few days. This long 42-year chapter in our life is over,” Mr Bin Hussein said.
His brother resigned from Col Gaddafi’s regime and fled to Tunisia as soon as the dictator ordered his men to kill fellow Libyans.
However, he fears for his mother, sister and nephew who are still in Tripoli and with whom communication is sporadic.
Fuad said his relatives were still in Tripoli and they could not even visit one another because they did not live within walking distance.
During the past six months, shop owners were “forced” to open for business but the situation changed from Wednesday.
The city has been stripped of electricity and basic food supplies. A gas cylinder, which usually cost 2.5 Libyan dinars, can cost up to 120 dinars, he pointed out, while 20 litres of petrol, hardly enough to fill a third of most cars’ tanks, cost about €200.
Youssef Lamlum, who also has friends and family in Tripoli, said the rebels had been preparing themselves for “the Tripoli battle” for weeks.
Rebels had transported firearms and other equipment from Zlitan and Tunisia into Tripoli while international forces were using Apache helicopters to gun down snipers on rooftop water tanks, he added.
A man from Hadba el Khadra said on a crackling satellite phone line from Tripoli that the regime was retaliating ferociously, gunning down rebels with 14.5 mm anti-aircraft heavy machine guns while civilians were even used as human shields by Col Gaddafi’s forces.
“If you saw what we’re seeing every day, your blood would curdle. It’s a very grave situation and it’s becoming impossible for us to live here by the minute. “However, we can’t even get out of the cities because roads have been blocked by regime vehicles,” he said.
About 30 members of the Libyan community in Malta yesterday made another bid to persuade the government to pass on the Libyan Embassy to the opposition.
Waving the three-coloured monarchy flags in front of the embassy in Balzan, which still flies the green flag, the protesters said the Maltese government was sending out mixed messages. They could not understand how the government has recognised the National Transitional Council as the sole interlocutor of the people of Libya but allowed the embassy to still represent “Gaddafi’s family”.
A spokesman for the protesters said that on Wednesday they wrote to the Foreign Affairs Ministry informing it of “dangerous people residing in Malta ready to do anything for Gaddafi”.
The embassy was not serving its people and the Maltese government could not continue to support two sides at the same time, said Mr Lamlum, who called at the embassy twice requesting a Libyan passport, to no avail.
The protesters insisted people working at the embassy were scared to cease obeying Col Gaddafi’s orders and side with the Libyan people. They added some of them had found refuge here, far away from the troubled Libyan people.
“We still respect them and hope they resign and join us.Every living Libyan knows that Gaddafi is finished. We’re ready to forgive but it is up to the courts to judge them. We’re ready to welcome them with open arms. However, if they want to represent Gaddafi, then this is not their place,” Mr Lamlum added.