Spots to watch in the battle for Tripoli

Libya’s rebels staged a swift takeover of much of Tripoli over the weekend and into today, and they now control 80 to 95 percent of the capital. Forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi are nonetheless fighting fiercely to hold on to pockets of the city still in their hands. Below are some of the most embattled areas.

Bab al-Aziziya compound

Ivan Sekretarev/AP
In this photo taken on a government-organized tour, a supporter of Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi walks at an empty square in Bab al-Aziziya compound in Tripoli, Libya, on June 27.

Qaddafi, his family, and his closest advisers barricaded themselves inside the well-protected Bab al-Aziziya compound, a group of military barracks that has become the regime’s home base for much of the uprising.

Located on the city’s outskirts, the compound seems to be one of the few places in Tripoli still under Libyan government control. On Monday, rebel forces attempting to infiltrate the compound were turned back by tanks and heavy fire.

NATO has bombed the compound, a part of which remains in ruins from a 1986 US bombing, several times since it began operations in Libya this spring.

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