Rebel Assault on Tripoli Continues

With explosions and gunfire continuing in Tripoli this morning, rebels are continuing their advance on Moammar Gadhafi, reports Reuters. Rebels said that anti-Gadhafi forces in Tripoli have joined the rebel fight, particularly around Tajoura and the airport, two regions know to be more anti-Gadhafi, and that they're backed by aerial support from NATO. "The zero hour has started. The rebels in Tripoli have risen up," a rebel spokesman told al-Jazeera.

Gadhafi, on the other hand, took to the air this morning, with an audio message on state television calling the rebels "rats" and claiming that the rebels "were attacked by the masses tonight and we eliminated them." For the moment, however, details of the fighting in Tripoli are difficult to confirm. The AP is reporting that the rebels are less than 20 miles from Tripoli, having reached the town of Jedaim. (More Moammar Gadhafi stories.)