LIBYA :THE FIGHT CONTINUES

Libyan rebel fighters fire their weapons during a fight for the final push to flush out Moammar Khadafy's forces.

Of the six days since the revolt reached the capital of Tripoli, August 25th may have been the bloodiest yet. Evidence of fresh massacres by both sides around the city were reported, while the battle to establish full control of Colonel Khadafy's breached compound, Bab al-Aziziya, raged on. In their drive to take command of Tripoli, the rebels concentrated their forces on a block-by-block battle for the streets of the Abu Salim neighborhood, a center of Colonel Khadafy's support. By late afternoon, the fighting had once again swamped Tripoli Central Hospital with wounded civilians and combatants.


Rebel fighters return from the battle against fighters loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Khadafy in the neighborhood of Abu Salim in the south of the capital Tripoli. Hardened fighters streamed into Tripoli as Libya's rebels sought to deliver a knockout punch to Kadhafi's diehards and to flush out the elusive strongman, dead or alive.

Rebel fighters on the frontline during as they attack southern Tripoli's Abu Salim district, a hide-out of snipers loyal to Libya's embattled leader Moammar Khadafy

A Libyan walks inside the Abu Salim prison in Tripoli, LIbya,one Libya's most notorious prisons and the scene of a 1996 massacre of prisoners.

Rebel fighters maneuver their gun during fighting with loyalists to Khadafy, in the neighborhood of Abu Salim.

Libyan rebels gather at the entrance of the al-Maser forest in southern Tripoli where they found boxes of ammunition hidden underground by Kadhafi's forces

The body of a suspected mercenary lies near the rubble of a fire station during a fight for the rebel's final push to flush out Khadafy's forces in Abu Salim district. Libyan rebels stormed Tripoli's Abu Salim district, one of the main holdouts of forces loyal to Khadafy in the capital, following NATO air strikes on a building in the area.

A Libyan rebel soldier reacts after a fellow fighter was brought in with a wound, sustained in battle with pro-Khadafy loyalists, to the Tripoli Central Hospital. Heavy fighting continues in the Libyan capital.

A Libyan rebel fighter receives medical attention after receiving a gun wound to his shoulder at the Tripoli Central Hospital. The Rebels, who have issued a $1.7m reward for Gaddafi's capture "dead or alive," are attempting to reach Colonel Khadafy's hometown of Sirte but have met loyalist resistance.

Medical staff treat a Libyan rebel fighter after a bullet entered one ear and exited out the other, according to a doctor, at the Tripoli Central Hospital.

A Libyan rebel fighter screams to his comrade asking him to stop firing his machine gun towards buildings during a fight for the final push to flush out Muammar Gaddafi's forces in Abu Salim district.

Libyan rebel fighters detain mercenaries during a fight to flush out Khadafy's forces in Abu Salim district.

Libyan rebel fighters stand guard over detainees in Abu Salim district. Libyan rebels stormed Tripoli's Abu Salim district, one of the main holdouts of forces loyal to Khadafy in the capital.

A Libyan Rebel fighter washes blood off his hands outside the Tripoli Central Hospita.

Libyan rebel fighters stand guard over a detainee. Libyan rebels stormed Tripoli's Abu Salim district following NATO air strikes.

Libyan rebel fighters stormed Tripoli's Abu Salim district in search of forces loyal to Khadafy.

Libyan rebel fighters flash the victory sign after storming Tripoli's Abu Salim district.

Libyan rebels took part in an intense battle between 1,000 rebels, surrounding two buildings filled with Moammar Khadafy loyalists in the neighborhood next to the Libyan leader's captured compound.

Libyan rebel fighters protect a pro-Khadafy loyalist fighter from angry onlookers as he is brought in for medical attention to the Tripoli Central Hospital.

A medic and Libyan rebel fighter carry the body of a comrade in Abu Salim district in Tripoli.

Rebel fighters check an armoured door in a tunnel in the ransacked Bab al-Aziziya compound of ousted Libyan leader Moammar Khadafy. Libyan rebels said they were sending in special forces units in their hunt for the fugitive strongman, whose supporters are now pinned down in pockets of resistance in the capital, Tripoli

Libyan rebels seize boxes of ammunition hidden underground by Khadafy's forces in the al-Maser forest in southern Tripoli.

Rebel fighters receive treatment in a Red Crescent ambulance.

Rebel fighters patrol the streets in a neighborhood south of the capital.

A Libyan rebel fighter sits at a check point in Tripoli. Heavy fighting continues in the Libyan capital between Khadafy's forces and the surging rebel presence

A Libyan rebel fighter yells anti-Khadafy slogans as he celebrates in the street in Tripoli.

LIBYA ON THE BRINK OF CHANGE

Men hold a cartoon of Libyan leader Moammar Khadafy in Benghazi on August 22, 2011 as they celebrate the entry of rebel fighters into Tripoli.

Rebels swept into the center of Tripoli over the weekend, and the end appeared to be inevitable for the 42-year reign of Moammar Khadafy as leader of Libya, but government forces were still putting up sporadic resistance in pockets of the city. The whereabouts of Khadafy were unknown. He is wanted by the International Criminal Court in The Hague for crimes against humanity. The six-month uprising had been marked by slow progress followed by setbacks, but moved with startling speed over the weekend. Gathered here are pictures from the last few days of the fighting and celebrations.

Libyan rebel fighters celebrate as they drive through Tripoli's Qarqarsh district August 22, 2011.

A Libyan rebel fighter fires at positions held by regime forces during the battle for control of Zawiya, west of Tripoli, on August 19, 2011.

Libyan rebel fighters react after gaining positions against regime forces in Zawiya on August 19, 2011.

Pictures of Libyan leader Moammar Khadafy decorate the walls of the Zawiya hospital as rebel fighters fire at regime forces taking shelter inside on August 19, 2011.

Suspected members of the Libyan regime forces are rounded up in a truck by rebel fighters in Zawiya on August 19, 2011.

Libyan rebels celebrate after gaining positions against regime forces in Zawiya on August 19, 2011.

Libyan rebel fighters carry a comrade who was shot by a sniper in Zawiya as rebel forces staged an assault on regime forces in the city's main square on August 19, 2011.

A man takes pictures of the bodies of pro-Khadafy soldiers killed when rebel fighters seized control of the center of the strategic coastal city of Zawiyah on August 20, 2011.

Libyan rebel fighters burn a government flag in the main square after seizing control of Zawiyah on August 20, 2011.

A young boy who suffered a broken arm in a missile attack stands at the entrance to the main teaching hospital after Libyan rebel fighters pushed pro-Khadafy soldiers out of Zawiyah on August 20, 2011.

A doctor views the damage to the main teaching hospital after Libyan rebel fighters pushed pro-Khadafy soldiers out of Zawiyah on August 20, 2011.

Tens of thousands of Libyans celebrate what the rebels claim to be the first uprising in Tripoli against the Khadafy regime on August 21, 2011 at freedom square in Benghazi, Libya.

Libyans celebrate what the rebels claim to be the first uprising in Tripoli on August 21, 2011 at freedom square in Benghazi, Libya.

Libyan rebels run for cover during fighting against regime forces near the Gadayem forest, west of Tripoli, on August 21, 2011.

A Libyan rebel runs for cover during fighting against regime forces near the Gadayem forest, west of Tripoli, on August 21, 2011.

A rebel sprays graffiti depicting Moammar Khadafy on a wall in Gadayem, west of Tripoli, on August 21, 2011. Explosions and gunfire rocked Tripoli as a months-long uprising pushed through the gates of the Libyan capital.

Libyan rebel fighters run for cover from incoming fire as they advance through the town of Maia, 15 miles from Tripoli, on August 21, 2011.

A Libyan rebel tank drives over a sand barricade as rebels advance through the town of Maia on August 21, 2011.

Libyan rebels acquire arms form the captured military base "Kilometre 27" west of Tripoli on August 21, 2011.

A wounded rebel fighter flashes a victory sign in the Abu-Rafat hospital on the outskirts of Zawiya, LIbya on August 21, 2011.

A Libyan woman raises a rifle as tens of thousands of Libyans celebrate what the rebels claim to be the first uprising in Tripoli on August 21, 2011 at freedom square in Benghazi, Libya.

People watch a speech by Libyan defector Abdul Salam Galod near the courthouse in Benghazi on August 21, 2011.

Libyans embrace each other as tens of thousands of Libyans celebrate the arrest of Moammar Khadafy's son Saif al-Islam Khadafy and the partial fall of Tripoli into the hands of the rebels on August 21, 2011 in Benghazi, Libya.

A man lets off fireworks near the courthouse in Benghazi on August 22, 2011 to celebrate the entry of rebel fighters into Tripoli.

Tens of thousands of Libyans celebrate the arrest of Moammar Khadafy's son Saif al-Islam Khadafy and the partial fall of Tripoli into the hands of the Libyan rebels on August 21, 2011 in Benghazi, Libya.

Rebels in Tajura, a suburb of Tripoli, celebrate taking control of the entire area in the early morning on August 22, 2011.

A Kingdom of Libya flag is held aloft a building as people gather near the courthouse in Benghazi on August 22, 2011 to celebrate the entry of rebel fighters into Tripoli.

Libyans celebrate as rebels reach the highly symbolic Green Square in the center of Tripoli on August 22, 2011. Young men, many waving the red, black and green flag of anti-regime forces, were shouting and dancing in obvious joy.

Libyan rebel fighters question a man as they search for Khadafy army soldiers in Tripoli on August 22, 2011. 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 Moammar Khadafy's 42 years in power.

Libyan rebel fighters embrace at the former female military base in Tripoli on August 22, 2011. Libyan rebels celebrate after gaining positions against regime forces in Zawiya on August 19, 2011.