1,300 dead in attack on Tripoli: govt spokesman

Updated at: 0242 PST, Monday, August 22, 2011
TRIPOLI: Libyan government spokesman Mussa Ibrahim said on Sunday that 1,300 people have been killed in a rebel assault on the capital, describing the fighting as a "real tragedy."

"In 24 hours, 1,300 people have been killed in Tripoli," Ibrahim told a press conference in Tripoli, updating an earlier toll given by a government official.

Ibrahim insisted Libya's regime "is still strong and thousands of volunteers and soldiers are ready to fight."

The rebels, who said Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi's regime would fall within hours, were locked in battle with his forces in several districts of the capital late on Sunday. (AFP)