Libya: battle for Tripoli – live blog

• Hundreds of rebels storming Gaddafi’s compound • Fighting continues in areas of Tripoli • Muammar Gaddafi’s location unknown • Click here to see how today’s events unfolded so far 5.14pm: Chris Stephen writes from Misrata that Nato’s actions are subject to scrutiny by the international criminal court just as Muammar Gaddafi’s are. The ICC’s statute prohibits attacks on civilians, of which there appear to be thousands in residential areas around the Libyan leader’s Bab al-Aziziya complex, Chris writes. But war law does allow for what amounts to “collateral damage” – if the target is military then civilian losses may be allowed if they are proportional to the damage inflicted. And ICC judges may be likely to agree that targeting what is the command and control complex for the Libyan leader, who is himself a legitimate military target, makes the compound a legitimate target, even if there are some civilian casualties. The problem for even the most hard-headed Nato lawyers is that the ICC has set no precedent for where lies the line between acceptable and unacceptable civilian losses; only a court judgment would do this and the alliance will be anxious, as it debates strategy in the coming hours, not to become the first test case. Chris Stephen is author of Judgement Day: The Trial of Slobodan Milosevic . 5.10pm: Al-Jazeera just showed pictures it said were from inside Muammar Gaddafi’s compound showing rebel fighters holding up the head of a Gaddafi statue, and kicking it around on the floor. 5.09pm: Hello and welcome to Middle East live this evening as events move quickly in Libya. Here’s a summary of today’s key developments. Click here to read today’s live blog and see how events unfolded . Libya • Hundreds of Libyan rebels are storming Muammar Gaddafi’s main compound in the centre of Tripoli as the battle for the capital continues ( see 4.35pm ). There are reports they control one of the gates and have been firing into the air in celebration, an indication perhaps of their confidence. They appear to be meeting little or no resistance there. However, the compound covers a large area. Fighting continues in various areas of the city. • Gaddafi’s whereabouts are still unknown, although he is suspected to be in his compound. Russian chess federation chief Kirsan Ilyumzhinov said he spoke to the Libyan leader today by phone and he said he was still in Libya, and apparently in the company of his son Mohammad, who reportedly escaped from house arrest by the rebels yesterday ( see 3.59pm ). A Nato spokesman said he had no idea where he was and played down his importance ( see 1.53pm ). • Nato officials in Brussels said the alliance’s warplanes were flying over Tripoli today, but that there are no “indications” they have dropped any bombs on the city ( see 2.49pm ). Nato ambassadors are meeting in Brussels at Nato headquarters to discuss the way forward in Libya and look at “options for a possible Nato role” once the conflict is over ( see 1.53pm ). This will not include Nato troops on the ground and any role would have to be requested by the new Libyan government and led by the UN. The Nato mission will continue until all Gaddafi’s forces have withdrawn to their bases and there is full humanitarian access. Reuters is reporting that the US is monitoring Libya’s few chemical weapons sites. Amnesty International warned that the continued fighting was posing a serious danger to civilians ( see 4.05pm ). Rebels from Misrata are rushing to Tripoli to help with the fight ( see 3.23pm ). • Confusion surrounds the reappearance last night of Gaddafi’s son Saif al-Islam. Opposition figures said he had escaped from custody. The international criminal court has denied that it ever confirmed he had been arrested ( see 10.55am ). His reappearance is seen as an embarrassment to the court as it attempts to seek war crimes prosecutions. Britain’s deputy prime minister Nick Clegg said Saif’s reappearance was “not the sign of a comeback” . The rebels’ original report of his capture may have been an inept attempt at propaganda that has now misfired ( see 3.19pm ). • Bahrain recognised the National Transitional Council as Libya’s legitimate authority. Italy announced plans for meeting in Milan between Mahmoud Jibril of Libya’s National Transition Council and the Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi ( see 11.19am ). Syria • Eighteen people have been killed in the past 24 hours in Syria, according to activists ( see 3.31pm ). The UN human rights council has condemned and launched a new inquiry into the regime’s crackdown on anti-government protests ( see 2.40pm ). A UNHRC mission found evidence of a shoot-to-kill policy by the Assad regime and estimated that more than 2,200 had been killed since the protests began ( see 8.50am ). Middle East Muammar Gaddafi Saif al-Islam Gaddafi Military Nato Libya Syria Paul Owen guardian.co.uk

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