Conflict in Libya: When Will the Lying Game End?

After weeks of being on the run new rumours now say Gaddafi has been spotted in a south Libyan town currently being captured by the National Transitional Council's forces, but after months of sketchy information, many inside and outside Libya are fed up with what appears to be a lying game perpetuated by both the Gaddafi and NTC forces.

So after months of reports saying the colonel is about to leave for South Africa, Algeria, Niger or Burkina Faso, latest news now claim Gaddafi has been spotted in Sabha, 750 kilometres south of capital Tripolithe regional daily Asharq al-Awsat reported on Tuesday, citing an eyewitness.

The witness claimed that Gaddafi was living in the city, but failed to provide further details about the fugitive leader's whereabouts.

The news came as the rebels started an assault on the city, as they still fight soldiers they say are Gaddafi loyalists.

Funnily enough, similar reports emerged as the rebels were first trying to enter Bani Walid and later on Sirte, two cities considered as strong Gaddafi bastions, raising questions about the veracity and genuinety of some of the reports advanced by the rebels and their supporters.

The conflict has been marked by false claims from both camps, and with one delusional leader ousted; the last Libya and Libyans need is another unreliable government spreading rumours to justify its policies.

Despite being on the run, the colonel has continued to send statements and audio messages through the Syria-based al-Rai channel, calling for men and women to take up arms against the enemy and today was no different as a new message broadcasted on the TV channel said the Gaddafi regime is still alive in Libya and his supporters should rise up.

In a short announcement Libya's former leader called his opponents' takeover of all but a few pockets of the country a charade, warning that the NATO airstrikes will not last forever.

Gaddafi once again proves he takes fun in taunting the Alliance as he knows its mandate in Libya is soon expiring.

While Gaddafi's credibility was rapidly even more ridiculed by his claims that the rebels were drugged-up Al-Qaeda fighters, the NTC's reliability were also rocked by false reports that some of Gaddafi's sons had been captured and put into detention.

The new report came just as a military spokesman, Colonel Ahmed Bani, said in Tripoli on Monday that "The airport of Sabha has been liberated by our fighters, "Also two villages near Sabha have been liberated."

Despite the transitional government now establishing itself in Tripoli, leaving many to question whether the transitional plan advanced by the NTC leaders will be as easy to implement as they first assumed.

The fighting across the country is still on-going and the rebels struggle to impose the authority of the new interim government with more reports from Libya saying that tribal divisions are predominantly standing in the way, not Gaddafi loyalists.

In-fighting has also been strong in the last week, with the rebels meeting stiff resistance in both Sirte and Bani Walid, south-east of Tripoli, and observers now say some of the NTC fighters, demoralised by a months-long conflict are starting to leave the ranks.

As NTC officials have announced renewed efforts to capture the two cities on Tuesday September 20, with a NTC official reportedly telling an Al-Jazeera journalist that "They [NTC fighters] say they are hoping to keep the momentum, over the past few days, they have advanced a good 40km towards Sirte but the closer they get, the tougher it gets."

Meanwhile in another effort to push the Gaddafi forces to surrender, NATO has made radio announcements saying "The world is watching you," "This is your opportunity to side with the Libyan people and chose the right side of history."

Well, the right side of history it seems also entails people fleeing towns where the struggle continues as water and electricity are often cuts, leaving people to subsist in extremely precarious conditions. The Libyan people have fought hard for their liberty so they now deserve to have a Gaddafi-free future that lives up to the expectations they have been served with by both the Alliance and the NTC for months.