In the days following the libyan rebels’ push into tripoli, stubborn resistance by loyalist fighters continued in various areas of the capital. With the final battles raging and the fall of the city imminent, Executive was at the front lines documenting the fierce firefights, the surrender of soldiers and the casualties of war
1) After rebels routed loyalist forces during a day of skirmishes in the neighborhood of Abu Salim, one resident celebrates by ripping up a picturenof the fallen Libyan dictator Muammar al-Qadhafi with his teeth
2) A rebel patrol hunts for loyalist forces on the streets of Abu Salim, a staunchly pro-Qadhafi area that saw heavy house-to-house fighting after rebels took the city
3) A rebel soldier aims and fires through an opening in a wall at a loyalist gunman who, from a position in a residential building overlooking the Qadhafi compound of Bab Al Aziziya, had the rebels pinned
4) Rebel soldiers argue over the fate of a captured Qadhafi loyalist
5&6) A Qadhafi fighter pleads with his rebel captors before being struck in the head with a rifle butt
7) A terrified resident is reassured by rebels who, after a vicious assault, had just captured four loyalist troops from her building
8) A loyalist soldier has his hands tied behind his back after surrendering to rebel forces. With the discovery of what appeared to be executed loyalist prisoners, the rebel leadership urged fighters not to abuse detainees. However, with little coordination between the various rebel groups, the fate of their captives was far from assured. Executive saw one captive being shot in the leg and others being beaten, though most of those seen captured by rebel forces appeared to be treated humanely
9) A loyalist soldier is interrogated by rebel troops minutes after he and several of his comrades surrendered amid heavy fighting in Abu Salim
10) Rebels take cover from sniper fire inside a guard post at the Qadhafi compound of Bab Al Aziziya
11) Opposition soldiers fire at loyalist gunmen in a residential area of the Abu Salim neighborhood in Tripoli
12) Some rebel divisions have taken to wearing uniforms and have developed formal structures of command, though for the most part remain loosely organized and use an informal assortment of arms and apparel
13) The body of a soldier lies dead in a corner after heavy fighting in Abu Salim
14) A rebel fighter escorts an Abu Salim resident from his home. Given the urban nature of the warfare and that fighters were often informally dressed, distinguishing civilians from soldiers was often difficult
15) A family flees after rebel troops surrounded their building in Abu Salim. As loyalist gunmen took up positions in residential housing blocks, civilians found themselves in the middle of heavy exchanges of fire from rifles, anti-aircraft weapons and rocket propelled grenades
16) Rebels dash toward the outer wall of the Bab Al Aziziya compound, keeping low to avoid Qadhafi gunmen who had been firing at them
17) Leaving no stone unturned, rebels search a giant stuffed bear found in the Bab Al Aziziya compound
18) Rebel soldiers patrol the streets of Abu Salim near sunset after a day of heavy house-to-house fighting
19) Children collect bullet shell casings in what was formely called Green Square in Tripoli, now renamed Martyrs’ Square. The square saw little actual fighting but much celebratory gunfire
20) As fighting ceased and quiet descended with the night, a resident walked through Tripoli’s old city, El Madina El Kadima
