(Washington Post) — With the capital now almost completely under rebel control, the Libyan war’s focus is quickly shifting to an all-out manhunt for fugitive leader Moammar Gaddafi. Wild rumors flew around Tripoli on Wednesday: He’s holed up in a network of tunnels linking the Rixos hotel, his Bab al-Aziziya compound and the sea. He’s at his farm near the international airport. He’s hiding among the animals at the Tripoli Zoo, which is located in a park that lies between the compound and the hotel, an area still under loyalist control. Rebel fighters also said they were looking for Gaddafi’s son Saif al-Islam, who was last seen Monday at the Rixos, confounding rebel claims that he had been captured. Thejournalists who had been held at the hotelby Gaddafi loyalists, virtually as prisoners, were freed and driven to safety Wednesday by the International Committee of the Red Cross. In Benghazi, the rebel government announced a $1.7 million bounty along with amnesty for anyone who provided information leading to Gaddafi’s capture, raising the stakes in the race to find the man who is wanted by the International Criminal Court on a charge of crimes against humanity.
