THE IRISH-LIBYAN who led the main rebel brigade into Tripoli estimates it will take at least six weeks to ensure full control over the city.
Mahdi al-Harati, a teacher of Arabic who lives in Dublin with his Irish-born wife and family, was last week appointed deputy leader of Tripoli’s military council, a body which hopes to merge all rebel units into one national army.
"Most of Tripoli is now under our control, but parts are in chaos. I would say 90 per cent is under control, militarily, and the remainder is made up of pockets of resistance from Gadafy loyalists," he told The Irish Times. "Every day we work on sweeping the city, area after area."
Mr Harati, who formed the Tripoli Revolutionary Brigade soon after arriving in Libya in the wake of the February uprising, said the rebels faced three challenges. “First, you have the actual troops fighting us, then you have the snipers, and then there are those in between, the ones we are not sure of. We have some information that they are loyalists, and some information that they are innocent people.”
He said the rebels had established a facility in Tripoli in which to detain Gadafy loyalists. “We have set up a committee of advocates and lawyers to make sure that everything goes by the law. This is not a committee that passes judgment – it is rather a committee that makes sure they are given the chance to make their statements so that they are ready when the government is in position to set up a judicial system and trials.”
Such a system will be needed. The charred remains of 53 people were found in a warehouse in Tripoli, apparently opponents of Gadafy who were executed as his rule collapsed.
In the Tajoura district of the capital, local people prepared a mass grave for the bodies of 22 African men who appeared to have been recruited to fight for Gadafy.
Mr Harati’s brigade is the largest of the rebel units that swept into Tripoli more than a week ago. It contains many expatriate Libyans, including several from Ireland. Harati’s Irish-born brother-in-law Hosam al-Najjair, who lives in Dublin’s Portobello, is the brigade’s head of security.
There were signs of normal life returning to Tripoli yesterday. Cars filled the streets, shops and markets were open, and people queued for food and water. Tankers filled with water helped address shortages.
Motorists cheered as traffic and regular police returned to Green Square, renamed Martyrs’ Square by the rebels.
One officer said he was inspired to return to work after the head of the rebels’ National Transitional Council urged people to do so.