Meanwhile, one of Gadhafi's sons told CNN he wanted to negotiate with the rebels, and seemed prepared to cut loose his father and the son once assumed to be his heir.
"If (the rebels) agree to cooperate to save the country together (without my father and Saif) then it will be easy and fast. I promise!" Saadi Gadhafi wrote to CNN Senior International Correspondent Nic Robertson, referring to Moammar and Saif al-Islam Gadhafi.
The rebels cannot "build a new country without having us in the table," Gadhafi told Robertson by e-mail, predicting that the rebels would break into two camps, "Islamists and others," allowing the Gadhafi regime "to choose who we will support so we will come back any way."
It is not clear what authority businessman Saadi Gadhafi has to negotiate on behalf of his father, or whether he actually commands any loyalty from the forces who continue to resist the rebels -- who took control Sunday over even more territory, a week after entering Tripoli.
A spokesman for the rebels, Shamsuddin Ben Ali, said Sunday their forces have taken over the western Libyan city of Ben Jawad, about 100 miles east of Gadhafi's hometown of Sirte.
Rebel military spokesman Ahmed Bani vowed that Sirte "will not remain under the control of a tyrant, no matter what."
But he left open the possibility of negotiation, saying "all the Libyan people are aware of the fact that the people in Sirte are Libyan."
"We are talking about negotiations to stop the bloodshed of our people, but liberating and cleansing the cities that are still under the fist of the tyrant, this issue a done deal," he said. "It is a matter of days only."
It is not clear if he was responding to Saadi Gadhafi's offer of talks.
He also urged anyone with information about missing prisoners to come forward, saying the rebels had found about 10,000 to 11,000 in Tripoli so far, and that the number had been thought to be much higher.
"Where are the rest of the prisoners?" he asked in a news conference.
Separately, CNN saw rebels in control of key towns along the road from Tripoli west to Tunisia, giving their commanders hope they can start bringing in supplies to ease the growing crisis in the capital.
Celebrations erupted in Zawara as Gadhafi's forces melted away, with palpable euphoria in the air and victorious gunmen firing into the air.
Rebels also control the border crossing of Ras Jedeir. It is closed to civilian traffic, but rebels hope to open it soon, with Tripoli facing a potential water shortage.
Rebel fighters said Saturday they are in control of most of the capital, but forces loyal to Gadhafi held out in a number of strongholds. Rebels took control Saturday of a tenacious pocket of resistance near Tripoli's airport.
Meanwhile, Alamin Belhaj, a member of the rebels' leadership, the National Transitional Council, told CNN that its priorities are now the liberation of Tripoli; security; and water and fuel services.
Belhaj said the rebels don't want a repeat of the Benghazi experience, where there hasn't been a police force for months.
The rebel leadership has called upon all police officers to return to duty by next week, and if they don't, they will be fired, according to an NTC official.
Also, a defense spokesman for the rebels' council said it is directing all army officials to return to their units and resume their duties, and those refusing to do so will be considered loyalists to the teetering Gadhafi regime and will be dealt with accordingly.
Belhaj said he didn't know why the water mains have been running dry in Tripoli and speculated it could be sabotage or power cuts by pro-government forces. One plan calls for 100 water tankers to come to Tripoli, and a ship with water is already heading toward the Libyan capital, Belhaj said.
A number of Tripoli residents get their water from wells, he added.
The United Nations and its diplomatic partners have been warning that widespread shortages of food, water, fuel and medical supplies could further destabilize the region.
The rebels' council has called on the U.N. Security Council to order the release of billions of dollars frozen by the United States and others at the onset of the war.
Though the National Transitional Council has been recognized by 57 countries and the United Nations as the legitimate representative of the Libyan people, the African Union failed to follow suit during a meeting Friday. It also has opposed the release of Libyan funds to the rebel leadership, saying there was no one in charge of the country.
Gadhafi, who served as chairman of the African Union in 2009, has strong ties to some of its members, including Algeria and Chad. There has been speculation that should Gadhafi flee Libya, one of those two countries would accept him.
Gadhafi has not been seen since rebels advanced on the Libyan capital last week, though he has taken to radio airwaves and urged loyalists to fight. The transitional council has offered $1.4 million to whoever captures or kills Gadhafi.
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