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Libya Uprising; Hurricane Irene Now Category Three; Repairing Washington Monument Cracks; Rocket Fire Near Tripoli Airport; Clashes Outside Tripoli Hotel; Hurricane Irene Slams Bahamas
Aired August 24, 2011 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: All right, guys. Thanks so much.
And that's exactly where we begin, Libya, where rebels are still in control of Moammar Gadhafi's compound. But Gadhafi supporters are not giving up. Our crew reports incoming sniper and mortar fire there, plus heavy resistance in other parts of the city.
Gadhafi still nowhere to be seen but he is being heard. Arabic networks have run two new audio messages said to be from the Libyan leader. He boasts of walking around incognito in Tripoli and calls rebel forces criminals, traitors and rats.
More and more, the rebels do believe he is still in or near Tripoli. In fact, they think two days of fierce fighting near the airport could be pretty significant.
We are covering every angle of this story with multiple correspondents on the ground. Sara Sidner is in Tripoli central square. Arwa Damon at the international airport. Fred Pleitgen is near Benghazi, the opposition's home base. And Zain Verjee is tracking the international reaction out of London for us.
All right. Let's get right to Arwa Damon for the latest on these fierce clashes right near the airport -- Arwa.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There were Grad rockets fired at the airport complex earlier today. The fighting around here has been quite intense and the rebel commander who led the assault on the airport believes that that fighting is directly linked to the whereabouts of Colonel Gadhafi himself.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The clashes here are fierce because we think that they're trying to secure a route for Gadhafi to escape from Tripoli to other places. There were clashes all day. And then they took advantage of sunset when people were breaking their fast and we spotted an official convoy. It's possible that he may have been inside it.
This is my analysis as a military. There has been intense firing from all directions for the last three days. There has been a focus on this airport complex more than other locations even in Tripoli. This is evidence that Gadhafi is in the area but wants to escape from Tripoli through here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DAMON: The commanders at the airport were telling us themselves after the initial rush into Tripoli, they were forced to pull back from certain locations after it appeared that Gadhafi forces re-amassed, reorganized and managed to launch counterattacks.
While the commanders here are telling us that they most certainly have seen many successes, they are not quite saying just yet that they are victorious, because they do realize that the Gadhafi loyalists who are out there could pose a threat. They do realize that they need to be able to structure themselves militarily that they can hold the ground that they have gained so far.
But what they have done is moving into Tripoli, they have managed to set up sleeper cells inside the city. When they gave the signal a few days ago, those sleeper cells that had a fairly sophisticated military structure managed to rise up and join in the uprising.
And so, on the one hand, we have seen them gain this experience, gain a certainly level of sophistication. On the other hand, we have seen them acted as they are, a ragtag group moving in without paying full attention to the kind of situation and fully militarily analyzing the situation they are getting into.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: OK. Once again, that was our Arwa Damon there that is outside the airport in Tripoli. We will be talking to her again throughout the next two hours.
Now, the Gadhafi compound has fallen. His regime in shambles and we still don't know where he is but we did hear an audio recording last night purported to be from him, but still that doesn't mean he is in Tripoli.
CNN's Zain Verjee joins us now from London.
Zain, it's all speculation but what are people saying around the world about where Gadhafi is hiding? You've been tracking the headlines.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Yes. No one knows for sure exactly where he is and anyone who says they know probably doesn't. I mean, it's a really difficult situation and really unclear to know exactly even how long it will take to get him.
I've been looking at some U.S. embassy cables that were published by WikiLeaks. They really talked about the Libyan leader as being so unpredictable. I mean, this is a very flamboyant mercurial guy who presided over a very brutal regime.
The first thing these cables reveal is that he has a real fear of flying over water. The U.S. ambassador was quoted in these cables saying he has a dislike of any long flights. He also has been described as having an intense dislike of staying on the upper floors of any buildings.
If you just look at some video that we have -- had taken back in 2009 when he was in New York City, he took along his good old Bedouin tent, Kyra, and pitched it up in a garden because he just wants to be in an environment that he's comfortable in and one that he trusts.
And, lastly, these cables also talk about the hundreds of bodyguard that he always used to take whenever he travelled abroad. And they focus, too, on the famous female bodyguards that he likes to be surrounded by and traveled with him everywhere. Although the cables also talk about how much of a diminished role that they have played over the years.
The U.S. embassy cables published by WikiLeaks also talk about how this guy just -- Gadhafi is a very complicated person and he has managed to stay in power for so long, Kyra, 42 years by cleverly maneuvering himself around the different power structures of the country, the different tribes of the country, too. He's been able to manage very well a balancing act, partly because of all the oil revenue that he has been able to get from the oil in Libya and then paying off and giving money to different groups to win over that trust -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: We are going to stay on the search. Zain Verjee out of London, thanks so much.
And as you know, there is more fierce fighting that is making it dangerous for journalists to leave the Rixos hotel. But Gadhafi loyalists are making it impossible as well. They're forbidding CNN's Matthew Chance and about 35 other journalists from leaving the hotel for their own safety the guards say. But there was some unexpected movement at the hotel today and our Matthew Chance gives us an update.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We've had one journalist come through. He's managed to find their way from outside, from Tripoli, into the Rixos Hotel.
He negotiated with the guards, came through on the basis that he was going to be allowed -- he's an international journalist -- basis that he came t through, he's going to be allowed to take one of the journalists who are inside the Rixos holed up here because it's still controlled by the government. One of them and what was turn a shocking trip (ph). He's going to take that him out, take that one person out and basically take them away.
But what happened when got outside with this journalist who was leaving with him, there was a gunfight and the driver of the car who was waiting for them fled in a hurry and left them stranded in the hotel. That is some additional person in the hotel.
Then shortly afterwards, some more journalists arrived at the hotel. There was a gunfight. They fled into the hotel. Additional four people came inside. So, the past 50 minutes we have had five additional international journalists, most of them American citizens as far as we can make out, who have come into this hotel. Perhaps an attempt to do some reporting on what is going on here. Obviously, they have found themselves now in the same situation we are in.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: All right. That was our Matthew Chance. Obviously, it's tough to get in touch with him considering the situation that he's is in. But he did have a chance to file that for us within the last hour or so. We hope to get him back on the line to find out what the conditions are there at the Rixos Hotel.
All right. Let's move closer to home now. Hurricane Irene hitting the headlines.
Jacqui Jeras, looks like you just got a brand-new model in. We were talking about the Bahamas. What do we know now?
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, we have taken a look at the computer model forecast. And these are the spaghetti plots we call them, Kyra, and as we take a look at them, we have noticed an even greater consensus of those models towards the Carolinas that they are offshore.
Look at this -- only one model now bringing it out over the outer banks of North Carolina. Everything else really is shifting on off to the east.
Now, as we take a look at them further out in time, the other new thing we've noticed here is that there is an even greater spread as we head into the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. So, when we see them spread apart like this, there's greater uncertainty as to the track of this forecast.
But one thing I do want to point out is that some of these better models, this is a very good and accurate computer model. This is also one of the more reliable models. And so, some of these bring it over New Jersey, some of them bring it over New York. So, I don't like to see that.
Now, the official forecast from the National Hurricane Center will show you this storm intensifying. It's a category 3 now with those winds at 115 miles per hour. That makes it a major hurricane and here is the official track bringing it still near the outer banks, at least, as we head into the weekend. Then up to the coast.
But look at how huge that cone of uncertainty is. That's because we see these errors that far out in time. So, at 11:00 Eastern Time, the hurricane center is going to update their track and we'll see if they're going to follow suit along with those computer models and we'll see if that pushes a little farther off to the east as well.
PHILLIPS: And, Jacqui, isn't it bizarre to see New York, Boston?
JERAS: Well, it doesn't happen every day but we have had hurricanes like Gloria, we had hurricanes like Bob. It would be a very, very disastrous situation to get a hurricane here, into the megalopolis region.
And, Kyra, the other thing, too, is even if we don't get a direct hit here in the northeast and stays offshore, we're still going to have a major rain event. The ground is very saturated here. So, very worried about flooding and the winds we think will be strong enough that power outages could be expected as well.
PHILLIPS: OK. Jacqui, thanks.
Well, you mentioned southeastern Bahamas and that's where our Jim Spellman is.
Jim, things are pretty calm right now, though, right?
JIM SPELLMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Yes. Windier earlier and we saw our first bout of rains. But as things work their way up towards the Bahamas, you know, it will come and go as these bands start moving in.
Right now, calm and beautiful like it is here in the Bahamas. It's such a beautiful country. They are just bracing, though, for this storm.
All the shopkeepers here like in downtown Nassau where I am has been putting up storm shutters, putting plywood over their doors and getting ready for not only the winds, but flooding they expect.
I just spoke to a shopkeeper who says it floods two feet on a good storm. They are ready for five or six feet of water here in downtown Nassau. He said he's gone through before and that's what they are preparing for here.
All of the tourists here are being encouraged to get out. The cruise ships pulled up this morning. They took off. The airport is going to close in a few hours, the last few flights of tourists leaving. The rest of the tourists who couldn't get out have to hole up in hotels which are in good shape here.
The Bahamians here, the island is about 20 miles long. There's not a lot of places for them to go to get out of the way of the storm -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Are you gearing up for a long day, long night?
SPELLMAN: Absolutely. You know how it is covering these hurricanes. You got to get ready because once they don't come on our schedule, they come on their own schedule.
PHILLIPS: Isn't that the truth? Jim Spellman, please keep us up-to- date. Appreciate it.
SPELLMAN: Well, it was the strongest rumble to rattle the region in decades. Yesterday's 5.8 magnitude earthquake centered in Virginia was felt by millions of people from northern New England all the way to Georgia.
No extensive damage reports as of now, but the Washington Monument is actually one of several structures showing some cracks.
CNN's Brian Todd is live near the epicenter.
When have ever we said -- Mineral, Virginia, the epicenter of an earthquake, Brian.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. It's pretty ironic, Kyra, and it's a very small town. You wouldn't think that this would be the epicenter of any kind of a natural event like this, but it is. And there was significant damage to the middle school here, to the high school in this town. Some minor injuries reported.
Not significant damage as far as heavy, heavy structural damage to these buildings here. Two houses did collapse but one of them had been abandoned and one was not occupied at the time. So, that's the extent of the damage in the town.
But there is real concern here about the facility behind me. This is the North Anna nuclear power plant. Both of the nuclear reactors here are offline and been offline since the earthquake hit yesterday. They don't anticipate these getting back online at least for another day. They've got to run down all the safety checks.
What they have been able to tell it us, though, is that the power from the outside grid has been restored to the cooling systems in this facility. That means that the cooling systems which cool down the nuclear reactor and the spent fuel pools are now running of power from the grid. They had been running on backup generator power, Kyra.
So, that's been resolved and that really kind of quashes any real fears of a Fukushima-like repeat whether it was, you know, radioactivity and a meltdown essentially at Fukushima. They say it's not a possibility here. No radioactivity has leaked and the areas that cool the spent fuel rods and the nuclear reactor are safe and stable, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: OK. Well, that's good news.
Meanwhile, you know, being an unusual place for this to happen, what's the reaction been like there in Mineral?
TODD: It's still kind of a state of shellshock here. You go around to talk to people in this town and in Washington, D.C., where we came from, right after the earthquake, people still just can't believe this happened.
This is a natural event that just does not happen on the East Coast. We have been reporting on this since yesterday. This is the biggest earthquake of the east coast in 67 years; the biggest one in Virginia in 114 years.
People are not used to it. People here are just assessing the damage of their homes, some structural damage as we mentioned, not really significant damage, but enough to cause them a great deal of worry.
Some people -- we did talk to a gentleman yesterday who said he can't go back into his home. He's been told to keep out of it and people are also kind of assessing whether they have insurance to cover some of this stuff.
So, just a lot of concern right now. And we may not be done with the aftershocks yet.
PHILLIPS: All right. Brian Todd, we'll be talking more. Appreciate it.
Well, no matter who ends up in control of Libya, Americans will be part of the rebuilding process. Just ahead, we're going to talk about someone who is doing some of that work and also talk to him about what he learned helping rebuild Iraq.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Gadhafi's compound has fallen and his regime imploded. But what a new Libya will look like is far from clear yet. One thing is certain, though, Americans will be involved. Already, there are numerous American companies doing billions of dollars of work in into Libya.
Retired Rear Admiral Chuck Kubic's company is one of them. Admiral Kubic also had one of them and he had a pivotal role in rebuilding Iraq. He joins me now live from Virginia Beach, Virginia, this morning.
Admiral, good to see you.'
REAR ADM. CHARLES KUBIC, CIVIL ENGINEER CORPS., U.S. NAVY (RET.): Good morning, Kyra. Good to see you again as well.
PHILLIPS: Now, you were in Iraq. And now, you have been in Libya and you are dealing with Libya as this change is taking place.
You know, how do you even begin to move forward and rebuild a country like this when you've got a dictator that is still MIA and a regime that is completely crumbling?
KUBIC: Right now, you can't do much of anything, Kyra. We actually left on February the 10th before this actually started. We have been monitoring it very, very carefully. And they are going to have to be a governing group emerge that can actually provide security and control what is going on, I think, before any businesses can really reengage.
PHILLIPS: Now, I was with you in Iraq when Saddam fell, and you were in charge of the rebuilding there. You also dealt with the transition of power.
So, what do you think? Is this going to be easy or more difficult than what you dealt with in Iraq? KUBIC: From the standpoint of rebuilding, maybe a little easier, because they have a lot of advanced infrastructure, they have a lot of capability or at least they had. But from the transition of power, I think it's going to be really hard.
What you have there are 2,000 tribes spread over about 6 million people, all of whom were united by a strong man who is no longer there and a tribal -- I mean, a governing council or transition council that has lost control.
The reports that I'm getting is that there is no security in city of Tripoli. People are hiding in their homes while gangs of youth, many of them under 25, are basically looting and killing. And until somebody can step forward and say we have control and hopefully begin to broker some sort of truce and stop the fighting, it's going to be very, very difficult to give a transition of power because there really aren't a lot of roots there that we can build upon.
PHILLIPS: So, taking into account what you just said, all of the tribal members and what we are seeing with regard to destruction, civil war, chaos, disorganization, would you rather be dealing with a single dictator like Gadhafi, or a fractured -- or a transitional council?
KUBIC: Actually, neither, Kyra. I mean, I think the point now is that we need to take Gadhafi out of the equation. However, he is going to be settled, somebody needs to deal with that.
But what we need to look at are the Libyan people and who are going to emerge as the governing authority that has legitimacy. You know, Gadhafi did have a people's congress that was organized in three tiers at the local level, regional, and national level. And they did meet and debated issues, they even passed budgets. Unfortunately, they were all appointed by Gadhafi.
But I think in their tribal culture and the way they have governed themselves for the past 40 years, that people's congress has to be reactivated hopefully with people who are selected, you know, by their localities to begin the rebuilding process. And I think the transition council has to recognize that and they have to begin to add legitimacy to govern all of the people, and not just a couple of thousand that actually started this conflict.
And so, again, I do think that we have to find a way to bring the people of Libya here, separate that from their leader, stop worrying about him, start worrying about the people.
PHILLIPS: Admiral Chuck Kubic, appreciate your time today.
KUBIC: Thanks, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: You bet.
Wall Street saw the Dow surge more than 300 points yesterday. We're going to go to New York and the stock exchange to see what's going to happen today, or at least try and predict what could happen today. And Amy Winehouse toxicology results are in. Her cause of death is still a mystery. Next, we'll hear what her family members are saying about the report.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: All right. Let's hit some showbiz headlines for you.
Will and Jada Pinkett-Smith say no, they are not splitting up. "In Touch Weekly" had reported that their 13-year marriage was ending, but Mrs. Smith's rep says that rumors about her being involved with Hawthorne co-star Marc Anthony are just not true.
Late-night comedian Craig Ferguson says someone mailed into his show some white powder claiming it was anthrax.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CRAIG FERGUSON, COMEDIAN: I was frightened. All the "Late Late Show" employees had to leave, nobody getting any work done. It was just like a regular day!
But it was going crazy. I said the helicopters are buzzing everywhere. People are rushing around. This is the most attention this show has gotten -- it's the most attention the show has!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Thankfully, the powder wasn't dangerous. Authorities are still investigating the case.
And toxicology results are in for the death of singer Amy Winehouse. Zain Verjee is joining us out of London.
Zain, she was known to use drugs. So, what do the results show?
VERJEE: It was a bit of a surprise to many people, Kyra, who expected that that would show up in these toxicology results. But a family has come out to make a statement and they have had said there is no illegal substance that has been found in her system at all when she died last month. They also say that the toxicology results show that alcohol was present in her system, but it's really not clear whether that was the cause of death. So, there will likely be further tests to determine what the cause of death actually was.
She died last month here in London, Kyra. She was only 27 years old. She had battled with addiction of drugs and alcohol abuse.
She had actually just come out of rehab and then she had gone to Serbia to have a big comeback concert and that went -- it was a total disaster and she was booed off the stage.
I was looking at an interview she did with CNN back in 2007, Kyra, where she said, I don't care enough what people think about me to conform to anything -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Zain Verjee out of London -- she definitely wasn't a conformist, that's for sure.
All right. Let's head to business now. Carter Evans is at the New York Stock Exchange where we watched the Dow surge more than 300 points yesterday.
Carter, it was a nice little rally.
CARTER EVANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. A nice rally. And, you know, it was looking like we would give some of that back today. Dow futures were down 100 points.
But now, they're pretty much flat lined. The reason? This great report that were got on durable good orders. It jumped 4 percent in July.
What are durable good? These are planes, cars, trucks -- things that last a long time. They jumped 4 percent in July. That is a whole lot better than expected, and it's mostly due to aircraft orders -- still a good sign for manufacturers in general.
If we do turn positive today, Kyra, it would add to yesterday's 322- point gain. It's not really a bad rally lately. The Dow is up six of the past nine sessions and nearly every Dow 30 stock rose yesterday -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: OK. So with the gains that we've seen over the past few days then, have stocks made up for the big losses of earlier this month or is there still more to go?
EVANS: You know, we have a long way to go. It's been a really rough August.
The picture is not as bad as for the year so far, though. Let's take a look at the Dow. Down nearly 3 1/2 percent. You know, it's not bad considering the losses we have been seeing this month and in July.
But the long-term picture still in doubt. We still got the European debt problems. They haven't been solved. The U.S. economy is not on solid footing. We still got lawmakers that have to make a big, big decision by Thanksgiving about what to cut in the budget. We got a long road ahead -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Carter Evans from the New York Stock Exchange -- Carter, thanks.
Coming up.
(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)
PHILLIPS: It was a historic moment and our Sara Sidner was there. Libyan rebels pouring to the gates of Moammar Gadhafi's compound.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Checking top stories now.
Hurricane Irene, a powerful category 3 storms with sustained winds of 115 miles an hour. It could impact the east coast this weekend.
Yesterday's 5.8 magnitude earthquake was centered in Virginia and felt as far away as Canada.
And clashes continue in Tripoli between Libyan rebels and Moammar Gadhafi loyalists. Gadhafi's whereabouts are still unknown.
CNN Sara Sidner was with Libyan rebels for their big triumph yesterday. A historic and pretty hectic experience.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SARA SIDNER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is the moment that they have broken in to Gadhafi's compound bab al-Aziziya. A major victory psychologically for them, they say, because this is where they believe the family of Gadhafi and Gadhafi himself spend most of their time. They said they could actually swim in his swimming pool. They are taking his files out. We have seen files of his son, of his son's wife and so we are sure that they were able to get inside there.
And we're following behind rebels who are taking us into the compound. They say it's safe. We know that sometimes they are not sure exactly what they might encounter even inside of that large compound. But we were seeing amazing celebrations in the neighborhood right near bab al-Aziziya and we're hoping to get into the compound in a few moments here.
We are walking into Gadhafi's compound of bab al-Aziziya. The rebels have taken the compound. We are going in to see what we can see. So this is bab al-Aziziya. They now have people standing as security.
OK, they're telling us OK, OK. We can go inside to the compound.
So as everybody runs into this compound, you're seeing people go in and take out weapons. Look just over there behind you is a huge box. This box, can I look? Some of the weapons inside of the Gadhafi compound, a handgun and a rifle, more guns, more guns these guys have found. And so they've been taking some of these things out. The weapons that are coming out of this compound are just massive. There are so many of them, boxes of them just people carrying them, carrying them out. They're even taking some of the trucks that belonged to Gadhafi forces.
This is an important day, especially for the rebels who Gadhafi said would never be able to break his spirit, would never be able to take the city. But they have taken bab al-Aziziya, Gadhafi's compound. And you can see now some of the press coming out. So, clearly, they had had. Clearly, they have taken this over and, clearly, there is extreme excitement here in Tripoli.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Sara and her crew were at the compound again this morning.
Sara, what was it like compared to the chaos yesterday? SIDNER: It looked very calm, actually. When we first went in, there were some rebels that were going into the area, again, going through the big compound there.
The compound is large. If I can give you an idea, it's like a neighborhood, it's that big, and there are many different sides to it. But, as we got closer and closer into those gates where you saw -- I mean, I talked to you yesterday, Kyra. We heard incoming fire, fire coming from outside of the compound from the east, coming into the compound. We looked to our right and we saw several mortars that had fallen, the results of several mortars had fallen. There was smoke and then we actually heard bullets fly past our heads. That was it. We had to get out of the way.
So, clearly, there has been still some fighting, some of Gadhafi's loyalists and forces in the eastern side of the compound on the outskirts of the compound shooting into the compound. That still is going on there in bab al-Aziziya.
We retreated to this area. This is the main square. It was called Green Square when Gadhafi was in power. Now the rebels who have taken over say this is Martyr Square, dedicated to those who have died in this fight, in this revolution. They have been here. We were here with them overnight at 3:00 in the morning. It's now 3:00-something in the afternoon and they're still firing shots into the air.
I should mention, though, while you have these guys firing shots into the air and celebrating, you do have still a firefight going on and we have a situation with international correspondents in a hotel that everyone has come to know about. And it's one of those situations where you do start to wonder, you know, at some point, I think, the rebels have to organize and get down to business and we're not seeing that all over the city.
We do know that they are in control of much of the city, but we also know there are areas where there are still snipers that are believed to be in buildings and there are still fighting and, yet, you have this celebratory gunfire. You have to wonder why they're not getting all of their efforts to try to do and get the job done, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Sara, I mean, I'm just listening to you and my heart is beating and I know you're mentioning this is celebratory gunfire. But, you know, you even mentioned yesterday that you really didn't know for sure if you had Gadhafi supporters around you when you were -- when you got into Tripoli, finally, and you were up live talking to us.
So how, indeed, do you know you are in a safe position and you are surrounded by rebels more so than Gadhafi supporters? You still really don't know, right?
SIDNER: Well, usually what happens is we assess the situation. We do not just roll up into these situations and start going live. We are very careful with how we decide where to go.
What we do is we make contact with some of the rebels, we try to figure out where they are and what they're doing. We make our contacts with more than one. We oftentimes will get escorted into a place where they say is safe and then we use our own judgment.
I went around the square to see what we were dealing with a little bit going behind buildings and this is definitely these explosions in the air even though they're using heavy arm fire in some cases, definitely celebratory gunfire.
But we do keep an eye out and it's all about the contacts you have on the ground to make sure that you are not going into a place where you're going to be faced with Gadhafi forces who are angry, generally angry, especially with the international media who would either take us hostage or try to kill us or harm us in some way.
So we take precautions in believing in our sources and the people that we have been in contact and with our own vision.
PHILLIPS: Well, and before I let you go, if you don't mind, you say with your own vision.
Can we see what's behind you? Can you describe to me what you do see behind you, and can you see what we're hearing?
SIDNER: Yes. I know what you guys are hearing because it's so loud here. I will see if I can just move out of the way.
You can't really see it from here. They are very close. They're just beyond the middle of the square. There are two large pillars and they're shooting sort of away from town. They're just outside what is the old town. This is a place where people -- that is, obviously, a large cannon going off there. Some of this is antiaircraft missiles.
They have used weapons from all different parts of the country and brought them here. They've rigged them onto the backs of trucks, for example, things that really aren't supposed to be on the backs of trucks. They're blowing off right now. A little disconcerting, I have to say.
But, this is the old city. This area used to be where people would come and shop and enjoy. You could buy just down there in the old city, you could buy souvenirs with Gadhafi on them. And so a market changed from 72 hours ago -- a cannon going off there.
I am concerned, you know, just as a person being here, I am concerned about the residents because with all of this gunfire even if it's celebratory, this gunfire, these bullets and these cannons and these mortars, they have to fall somewhere. And this is not a large open space area. This is an urban setting and we're starting to see residents come out and they are literally walking around with bowls on their head made of steel hoping not to get hit with anything.
And it begins -- it begins to really bother you when you see children walking in these streets knowing that these bullets have to come down somewhere and we know that people in the past, in conflicts, have been killed by celebratory gunfire, Kyra. PHILLIPS: Yes. And just for full disclosure, please Sara, at any moment let me know if we need to go, if you need to go. I know you have a security team with you. You have a photographer there with you. Just please tell me and also I'm going to ask our producers to let me know, as well, from what they can see in the control room there if we need to dump out of this at any moment.
But, boy is this a tremendous live shot with regard to giving us a feel what is happening there where you are.
On that note of the residents, we really -- you know, we haven't been able to go door-to-door to see what everyday life is like for the average citizen there in Tripoli right now. I know that you're working the story. You're working the angle of Gadhafi, where is he? The rebel forces fighting with Gadhafi supporters. You gave us a glimpse into what it's like for the Libyan people right now.
But are you seeing still people getting in their cars and leaving the exodus we talked about yesterday? Are people staying holed up their homes? Is business in any way, shape, or form operating there where you are, or is everything shutdown?
SIDNER: Most things are shut down. But I can tell you there is a difference today. It is amazing how things change in just a few hours' time.
When we left the city, people were leaving. Today, when we came in the city, people were coming back in. I'm right now, looking at a little girl holding a flag.
Can you ask her to come over?
Holding a flag. This is the first time -- no, no, this is the first time that we've seen residents kind of walking around, families walking around. A young lady who's here. You'll notice she's just in her T-shirt. She has a rebel flag and they're walking to see what is happening in the city and it does give you a little bit of pause because you worry. I mean, these kids are out here and you hear all this gunfire. You've got gentlemen walking by with guns and doing doughnuts and shooting out the window, anything can happen.
OK, sweetie, let's have her go with her dad.
PHILLIPS: Did she speak English? Do they speak English, Sara, by chance?
SIDNER: No, no, only Arabic.
PHILLIPS: But that's interesting. I mean, and that is -- so is that the norm? Are you seeing more families come out like this?
SIDNER: Yes. Yes. Just today. Just in the past few hours we're seeing more families. I see another one there with a little boy walking around. And we have seen even babies, you know, mothers carrying babies in cars and waving the flag outside of the car. But it isn't like it's dozens. We're seeing a few here and there. I've seen probably 10 in the last few hours coming out around the square and walking around.
But, it is a different scene. I think people really feel like the Gadhafi regime is finished and that they no longer have to worry. They are willing to show their faces, Kyra. They were not willing to do that just two days ago. People were concerned that if their names were used, that their families would be arrested and tortured. That's no longer the case. People are willing to show their faces and they're willing to tell us their names.
So people are starting to relax. Those that supported the rebels and that hated Gadhafi regime, beginning to relax here in the city even with all of this gunfire going on and even though they know there are still some parts of the city that are not safe, that Gadhafi forces still have some sort of presence in.
PHILLIPS: Our Sara Sidner there live out of Tripoli, just doing a absolutely remarkable job for us covering this story.
Sara, thank you so much.
And I understand we've been able to connect with our Arwa Damon who is live, just not far from the airport.
Is that right, Arwa, as you get miked up there. Are you still not far from the airport and what can you tell us about the talk about Gadhafi possibly hiding out on a farm not far from where you are?
OK, looks like -- there we go. We got her again.
DAMON: I think our signal may have just gone down.
PHILLIPS: You're back up, Arwa. Can you hear me OK?
OK. We're still working on that connection with Arwa.
As you can see, it's a fluid situation. Technology doesn't always work in our favor. We are going to try to reconnect with Arwa Damon just outside the airport in Tripoli, where there has been talk possibly airplanes on standby for Moammar Gadhafi, possibly an exit plan and possibly hiding out on a farm right there near the airport. Arwa Damon has been working her sources, working that part of the story. We'll try and get back to her right after the break.
More from the CNN NEWSROOM right after this.
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PHILLIPS: All right, we weren't able to connect with the live signal but we do have Arwa Damon on the phone calling in to us. She is right near Tripoli's airport.
And a number of things we want to try and confirm with you Arwa. There have been these reports that possibly Moammar Gadhafi hiding out on a farm not far from where you are and not far from Tripoli's airport. What can you tell us about that information? DAMON (via telephone): Well, Kyra, the senior commander -- the senior rebel commander says that the intensity of fighting that he has been seeing around the airport with multiple attacks being launched at times simultaneously is directly linked to Gadhafi's whereabouts.
He says he believes that his loyalists are trying to clear a route through Tripoli through the airport (ph) to the east of Sirte for him to escape to areas inside of Libya or perhaps even out of the country or he says he is already into these farmlands to the east of this complex. Loyalists trying to protect.
He says that last night, right around sunset, when the fighters breaking their fast, they spotted a convoy that included an armored Mercedes. He thinks Gadhafi was traveling in that vehicle. He said that they passed this information on to NATO, we have regularly for last two days been hearing NATO jets overhead and all day today, Gadhafi loyalists are firing ground rockets at the complex.
We are still hearing the sounds of explosions, we're still hearing heavy automatic machine gunfire -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, it's -- Arwa Damon, a little hard to understand there. We're still going to -- try to get a better connection with you.
But for our viewers, Arwa Damon just outside Tripoli's international airport there where she is reporting to us rebels saying they believe they possibly could have spotted Moammar Gadhafi in a convoy traveling possibly in an armed Mercedes, discussing the possibilities of an exit plan.
Our Arwa Damon is going to continue to work her -- her sources there. She is with the rebels and not far, just outside the airport. We will continue to talk to her as we can work on that connection. Arwa, if you still hear me, we appreciate you -- you calling in and trying to make connectivity with us. We'll keep trying.
And meanwhile, the ferocious fighting today has made it extremely dangerous as you know, for journalists to try and venture out not only on the streets but also the Rixos Hotel. Still, Gadhafi loyalists are actually making it impossible, they're forbidding CNN's Matthew Chance and about 35 other journalists from leaving that hotel. They say it's for their own safety.
Well, Matthew Chance had a chance to call in not long ago and give us this update from where he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We've been taking incoming artillery shells. We've had snipers target the hotel and many of the windows have been smashed by snipers' bullet and stray bullets as well. And the lobby of the hotel that still has Gadhafi loyalists are armed with Kalashnikov rifles. Many of the journalists have taken upon themselves, of course, to wear body armor and helmet and to congregate in the (INAUDIBLE) in the hotel because we think this is the safest place for us to be.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: All right, there has been a lot of attention on this Rixos Hotel because it seems to be a favorite of Moammar Gadhafi's as well. You may remember this when he was mobbed by reporters as he strolled through its lobby back in March.
Well, now it's on virtual lockdown. So why is this hotel so important to the regime?
Abubaker Saad is a professor at Western Connecticut State University, he also was a former aide and translator to Colonel Gadhafi. He has been joining us every day this week, giving his perspective on what's been taking place there in Libya.
And Professor, let me just ask you, you worked side-by-side with Moammar Gadhafi for a number of years, why would this hotel, the Rixos Hotel, still be so heavily-guarded by Gadhafi supporters?
ABUBAKER SAAD, FORMER GADHAFI'S AIDE: Well, this hotel is one of the newest to begin with, and it was the family's favorite hotel before the whole revolution took place. Also this hotel is located in the area that's close to the compound of Bab al-Azizia and also close to the airport and close to the area, which is predominantly supporters and loyalists for Gadhafi, the area that's called Bab al-Azizia and the region and other neighborhood next to it. It's called Buselene (ph). And those two areas are basically inhabited by two upscale areas that's inhabited by the -- by the regime's loyalists.
And -- and -- and I see the point of keeping the -- the -- the journalists in this hotel is to use them if they need to relay something to the outside world. See, you know, I mean, unfortunately for Matthew and his company, that they are being held hostage to be used in case the loyalists wanted to -- to show something to the outside world.
So they will be their instrument of doing that, and that, you know, although they claim they are protecting them, they are actually just keeping them so they can use them any time they wanted.
PHILLIPS: And that is obviously your perspective from a former aide to Moammar Gadhafi at this --
(CROSSTALK)
SAAD: Exactly, because -- because he loved his control over the Libyan television, so his -- his outlet -- if you -- if you remember a couple of nights ago, his son came to the hotel and just put himself in front of the camera for the rest of the world to see. So that's basically why they want -- that's why they are holding them there, because they wanted them to be their outlet to the outside world.
PHILLIPS: Do you -- do you believe they are safe, because they are having -- they are not getting food or water, electricity is sporadic, do you think our journalists will be safe there? SAAD: Well just said, they will -- you know, my estimation is they are going to be safe as long as they are useful. See that's the thing. Other -- you know and -- and if -- you know, if the loyalists begin to lose that area, the rebels will come in, so basically, you know, and I am -- and I am praying to God that nothing happens to them in that particular transition and moment between Gadhafi --
(CROSSTALK)
PHILLIPS: But that is a frightening thought, sir.
SAAD: -- people fleeing and the rebels come in.
PHILLIPS: And -- and final question to you about this hotel.
SAAD: Yes.
PHILLIPS: What do you know about its -- its architecture, you know, there have been reports out there, we have not been able to confirm this, but the reports are out there that possibly there are special exits, there possibly are -- are tunnels located underneath this hotel.
SAAD: Yes.
PHILLIPS: Is that true knowing what you know as a former aide to Moammar Gadhafi?
SAAD: Yes, well this is a -- this is a new hotel, so it was designed by those facilities, you know, all of the old hotels didn't have that, and it would have been obvious to do, to dig tunnels underneath them and all of that kind of stuff, but this has been built specifically to have an easy access to the Bab al-Azizia, to have an easy access to the airport, to have -- to have all of these kind of exits.
There are -- I mean I haven't seen the hotel because this -- this is a new hotel, but I know of plans that they will have secret exits out of that hotel.
PHILLIPS: Professor Abubaker Saad, former aide to Moammar Gadhafi, you've been helping us all through week, or all this week rather giving us insight to what's happening in Libya, I appreciate you once again for calling in. Professor, thank you.
We're also tracking Hurricane Irene, now considered a major storm as it reaches Category 3 status.
Meteorologist Jacqui Jeras is monitoring it for us next.
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PHILLIPS: Ok, we're keeping a close eye on Hurricane Irene for you, it's now a Cat 3 storm, and it's got folks from Florida to the northeast pretty worried now, but our meteorologist Jacqui Jeras is tracking it for us. She's going to bring us up to date, hopefully we don't have to worry as much as -- maybe I know, it's still up in the air. Ok.
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, I think Florida doesn't have to worry as much anymore, and so I think we can safely say that.
But Outer Banks on northward, it's anybody's ball game still at this point. This is a very intense hurricane, it's been continuing to get stronger, 115 mile-per-hour winds, it's getting ready to smack Crooked Island (ph) there get into the Bahamas.
The forecast track here, this is the latest from the National Hurricane Center, showing you taken today and tomorrow through the Bahamas before it starts that northerly turn, and you can see that that cone of uncertainty includes everybody from the Outer Banks through New England.
A very strong storm; we'll keep you up to date and talk more about the flood threat with this thing, Kyra, even if it doesn't make landfall.
PHILLIPS: Ok, thanks Jacqui.
And in Libya, the Gadhafi regime is all but done but the violent battle for Tripoli's the airport still rages on, we're going to take you there once again right after the break.
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