Rebels apparently seized Moammar Gadhafi's compound in Tripoli Tuesday amid renewed fighting with loyalist forces but that's only one step in a long process to determine Libya's future.

Circumstances involving the capture of Bab al-Aziziya are unknown, as is the whereabouts of the strongman who has defied rebels and NATO alike and refuses to relinquish power he has held for four decades.

What is clear is that confusion is the order of the day among disparate rebel forces as well as who controls what in Tripoli.

The rebels' earlier claims that Saif Gadhafi, the leader's son and heir apparent, had been captured and was being held prisoner proved false when he walked into a hotel to speak with foreign journalists and vow the regime wasn't about to give in. He then took reporters on a brief tour of areas under regime control.

Another son whom rebels claimed to have taken prisoner apparently escaped.

Also clear is that when the battle for Tripoli actually ends, and provided that Gadhafi has departed the political arena, Libya's main battle begins -- the battle for Libya's future and what form it may take.

About 30 countries have recognized the rebel's National Transition Council and pledged aid -- including the unfreezing of Libyan assets in banks abroad --- in rebuilding the country but unity within the organization is a question mark.

Ostensibly it is led by Mustafa Abdel Jalil, a technocrat and former development official of the Gadhafi regime. Other members include Islamists, secularists, Arab nationalists and businessmen.

The NTC, which claims authority from eastern Libyan local councils that rebelled against Gadhafi earlier this year, was embarrassed last month when its military commander, former Gadhafi security official Abdel Fattah Younis, was killed after being taken into custody for questioning by his own side.

In addition to any personal rivalries, Libya as a whole -- and such rebel forces that are included -- is riddled with political factions, ethnic, tribal and regional (east-west) animosities that Gadhafi encouraged by design and deed while in power.

Rebel forces now in Tripoli are mainly from the west of the country while the NTC is based in Benghazi, located in the east of the country and the focal point of Libya's oil industry.

Reports say fighters from the western mountains are sporting long beards, favored by Islamists.

Among rebel forces are also groups that are known to have supplied gunmen to Iraqi insurgents in their fight against coalition forces.

During the Gadhafi era, the most organized of opposition group was believed to have been the Muslim Brotherhood, the progenitor of Hamas.

A copy of the purported NTC draft constitution for Libya is said to contain an article that establishes Shariah law as the foundation of a new Libya's legal system.

One good portent for future stability has been expressions by rebel political leadership that lower-level Gadhafi regime officials and functionaries would be kept in their posts, running essential service such as water and power.

In other developments, NATO leaders Tuesday pledged to continue their bombing campaign to support rebels until Gadhafi throws in the towel.

Canadian air force Col. Roland Lavoie, a NATO spokesman, suggested the organization would continue support in the post-Gadhafi era.

"NATO is willing to help in a supporting role if needed and if requested," he said.

The United States mainly plays a supporting role in the NATO operation but the Pentagon said that as of July 31 that supporting role had cost $896 million.

The NTC has warned its irregulars that pro-Gadhafi force's still remain in Tripoli and that fight continues.

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