from Zawiya while other units were preparing to attack 'Aziziya, the last major city between rebel-controlled Gharyan and Tripoli. After taking the village of Joudaim, east of Zawiya, and advancing to the village of Al Maya, the rebels were stopped by loyalist forces who pounded them with artillery, rocket and anti-aircraft fire. The rebels captured a military barracks, which housed the elite Khamis Brigade, west of Tripoli, as well as weapons and ammo left behind by retreating loyalists. By the night of 21 August, rebels had pushed into Tripoli, meeting little resistance from government forces. Martyrs' Square was taken that night, while cheering residents filled the streets. NATO strikes According to NATO's daily "Operational Media Updates", the NATO strikes, during the offensive, hit: Influences on other fronts On 15 August, following rebel successes in the battlefield, the Libyan Interior minister Nassr al-Mabrouk Abdullah defected to Egypt with nine members of his family, although airport officials said he was just visiting as a tourist. The Gaddafi government claimed to have no knowledge of his leaving the country. On 15 August, apparently in response to rebel battlefield successes, a Scud missile was fired from the Gaddafi stronghold of Sirte at rebel-controlled territory. It is believed that the missile was intended to hit rebel troop formations around Brega; instead, it overshot the target by and landed harmlessly in the desert. On 18 August, US officials reported that Muammar Gaddafi was making preparations to flee to exile in Tunisia with his family. On 19 August, rebels stated that Abdel Sallam Jalloud, who was once Gaddafi's closest adviser, had defected to them, displaying pictures of him in the rebel-held city of Zintan as proof. The next day, Tunisian officials reported that Jalloud had actually fled to Italy, via Tunisia. On 20 August, Tunisian sources stated that Libyan oil minister Omran Abukraa had defected to Tunisia. References Battles of the First Libyan Civil War August 2011 events in Africa