Cairo, Aug 23 (IANS/RIA Novosti): The son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, Saif al-Islam, whom the rebels said they had arrested, appeared TV Tuesday accompanied by his supporters.

Al Arabiya television aired footage of Gaddafi's heir apparent assuring reporters that the situation in Tripoli was under control of government forces and offering them a trip around the city, which had been reportedly been overrun by the rebels.

"We will visit the alleged 'hot spots' and you will see with your own eyes that everything is quiet there," he tells the journalists in the clip.

"I am here to disperse the rumours...Our people have broken the backbone of these rebels, these gangs," he says.

The rebels claimed Sunday they had captured Saif al-Islam, along with other members of Gaddafi's family.

The sudden appearance of Gaddafi's son in public questions the reliability of reports coming from Libya.

Even the Arabic mass media sources admit that the video footage from Tripoli is hard to come by, which makes the unbiased assessment of the situation in the Libyan capital impossible.

Rebels by now have taken control of much of Tripoli. Colonel Gaddafi's whereabouts are unknown, although he is not believed to have fled the country.