Italy calls on embattled Gaddafi to step down

Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini on Monday urged embattled Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to step down without delay, as Libyan rebels forces pushed into the heart of the Libyan capital after a months-long stalemate. "The walls are closing in on the dictator's compound... The situation can bring disastrous consequences if in the next few hours Gaddafi doesn't announce his decision surrender and turn himself in," Frattini was quoted by local news agency Adnkronos as saying. Three of Gaddafi's sons have reportedly been captured by rebel forces who encountered little resistance when they entered the Libyan capital Tripoli on Sunday. The rebels' Transitional National Council is ready to move to Tripoli, according to Ali Suleiman Aujali, who is the rebel government's ambassador to the U.S. But Libyan Information Minister Moussa Ibrahim told CNN that the government still had 65,000 loyal soldiers fighting under the Gaddafi's government while a rebel spokesman said those forces still control up to 20 percent of Tripoli.