Jibril, the Head of the Executive Committee of Libya's National Transitional Council (NTC) and who is being referred to as Prime Minister of the country, will meet Sarkozy in Paris to discuss prospects for a political transition in a post-Muammar Gaddafi era.
Meanwhile in Tripoli, Gaddafi vowed on Wednesday to fight on to death or victory and defiantly urged residents to cleanse Tripoli of “rats”.
Two powerful blasts thought to be caused by an air attack rocked the capital early in the morning as a NATO warplane flew overhead.
The explosions came during a night of shooting as fighting continued following the storming of Qaddafi's Bab al-Azizya compound by rebel fighters on Tuesday.
The leader of a rebel group said pro-Qaddafi fighters were hiding on the road to Tripoli airport.
Insurgents, jumpy but jubilant and armed with assault rifles, combed the streets for remnants of the regime.
Other rebel fighters, some wrapped in Free Libya flags, some wearing flackjackets, manned checkpoints through the night, scrutinizing traffic by flashlight in neighborhoods without electricity.
Meanwhile, Opposition leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil pledged in comments published Wednesday that Libya will hold elections in 8 months and was adamant that Qaddafi will be tried in the country.
The whereabouts of Qaddafi and his family, however, remain a mystery. Rebels said they had found no trace of him when they swarmed through his compound on Tuesday, raiding his armory, raising their flag and ripping the head off a statue of the strongman.
In an audio message on Syria-based Arrai Oruba television station, Gaddafi urged 'the residents, the tribes, the elderly to go into the streets...and cleanse Tripoli of “rats” -- referring to the rebels.
He also said he had taken to the streets of Tripoli without being recognized. “I walked incognito, without anyone seeing me, and I saw youths ready to defend their city,” the strongman said, without specifying when he did his walkabout.
Source: Tradearabia; Agencies
