Channel 4 News International Editor Lindsey Hilsum reports from inside Gaddafi’s Bab al-Aziziya compound, breached by rebel fighters.
I’ve been down at Gaddafi‘s compound, Bab al-Aziziya, this morning. It’s an amazing sight; dozens of fighters from Misrata there, some who only arrived in Tripoli this morning.
They were firing wildly, partly in excitement and celebration, and partly because it seemed there was some gunfire coming from the Abu Salim area to the south.
I met a man who had trained in civil aviation at Northampton University, who said his brother had been killed yesterday. But despite his sorrow, he was overwhelmed with happiness at the overthrow of Gaddafi.
We saw another man: he was using an electric wheelchair and shooting in the air with a pistol. In that area of the compound, there doesn’t appear to be much left to loot. Last night, our landlord appeared at midnight with a berretta which he had “liberated” from the compound. I saw quite a few young men with berettas today, so I suspect they’ve been to the same store. We’re told that much of the compound is still pretty insecure, but it is unclear as to why. We are unsure whether snipers are inside of Bab al-Aziziya or firing in from outside the wall, or just because the revolution is so chaotic.
There’s a danger of different rebel groups firing at each other. It does feel that we are one step away from chaos, but at the moment, it is a joyful chaos which everyone hopes will not disintegrate.