[Not confirmed] Sirt Captured ??? (1pm EST) - Latest reports say Libyan revolutionary forces and protesters, heading eastward from the west of the country, have captured Muammar Gaddafi's hometown of Sirt.
(Reuters does not confirm this noon EST) - For Libyan rebels advancing westwards along the Mediterranean coast, the city of Sirte, hometown of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and an important military base, could prove a formidable battleground. Rebel fighters were pushing out from their stronghold in eastern Libya and on Saturday had taken the town of Bin Jawad, leaving them less than 100 km (60 miles) outside Sirte, with little except empty beach and desert between the two.The fight over Sirte is likely to be tough because the town is psychologically important: it is not only where Gaddafi was born but a place he has fashioned into a second capital designed in his own extravagant image. "If Benghazi (rebels) can expand down into the Gulf of Sirte ... they've got a very good shot at independence at the least -- or maybe even overturning him at the most," said Peter Zeihan, analyst with the U.S.-based Stratfor think tank. Though the Sirte basin is home to a large part of Libya's oil reserves, the town itself does not have any major energy infrastructure. But Sirte does have strategic importance because the civilian airport to the south of the town is also home to what appears to be a large military air base. Satellite images show that there are about 50 re-enforced concrete hangars, of the kind usually used to house military fighter jets, arranged in clusters around either end of the runway. TOWN FIT FOR A KING Before Gaddafi came to power in a military coup in 1969, Sirte was a small, obscure town on a stretch of coastline where the desert runs right up to the sea.
(Reuters) - Libyan government forces launched a second attack on the western town of Zawiyah on Saturday after rebels drove them out in a morning of fierce fighting, while in the east, opponents of Muammar Gaddafi pushed toward his home town. "The fighting has intensified and the tanks are shelling everything on their way. They have shelled houses. Now they are shelling a mosque where hundreds of people are hiding, Abu Akeel, a Zawiyah resident, told Reuters. "We can't rescue anyone because the shelling is so heavy," he said. Another resident in the main square told Reuters by telephone: "The attack has started. I see more than 20 tanks." Gunfire could be heard in the background. It was the second attempt by Gaddafi's forces to win control over the town in a matter of hours. Rebels pushed back an early morning attack in which residents said the government forces had fired high explosive rounds at civilians and dragged people from their homes. "We captured 3 APCs, two tanks and one pick-up after an hour and a half of fighting," Youssef Shagan, the rebel force spokesman in the town, 50 km (30 miles) west of the capital, told Reuters after the first battle. People opposed to Gaddafi's 41-year rule have been fighting his forces in Zawiyah for more than a week, after rebels took over large parts of eastern Libya in an uprising inspired by the overthrow of veteran rulers inEgypt and Tunisia this year. Residents said Gaddafi forces stormed residential buildings and killed people inside to secure the rooftoops for snipers. A doctor in Zawiyah told Reuters at least 30 people, mostly civilians, had been killed during the morning clashes on Saturday, bringing to 60 the death toll from two days of battles for control of the coastal town. A reporter for Britain's Sky television said she had seen at eight dead soldiers and five burning armored vehicles in the central square. The doctor said Gaddafi's tanks had fired at residential buildings and civilian cars trying to flee. "There is a lot of destruction in the city, I look around and all I see is destruction. Bombed buildings and burning cars everywhere -- I cannot even count how many," he said. GADDAFI HOMETOWN Before the latest fighting, the rebels appeared to have half a dozen armored vehicles, a similar number of anti-aircraft guns and numerous machine guns. One fighter vowed to fight to the death. "Gaddafi will never enter this city. He will never set foot here. The only way for him to enter the city is when we are all dead. He has to kill us all to control the city," the rebel, who gave his name as Ibrahim, said by telephone. Rebels in eastern Libya said they were pushing further west after driving forces loyal to Gaddafi from the oil town of Ras Lanuf on Friday.
(Reuters) - Libyan government forces launched a second attack on the western town of Zawiyah on Saturday after rebels drove them out in a morning of fierce fighting, while in the east, opponents of Muammar Gaddafi pushed toward his home town. "The fighting has intensified and the tanks are shelling everything on their way. They have shelled houses. Now they are shelling a mosque where hundreds of people are hiding, Abu Akeel, a Zawiyah resident, told Reuters. "We can't rescue anyone because the shelling is so heavy," he said. Another resident in the main square told Reuters by telephone: "The attack has started. I see more than 20 tanks." Gunfire could be heard in the background. It was the second attempt by Gaddafi's forces to win control over the town in a matter of hours. Rebels pushed back an early morning attack in which residents said the government forces had fired high explosive rounds at civilians and dragged people from their homes. "We captured 3 APCs, two tanks and one pick-up after an hour and a half of fighting," Youssef Shagan, the rebel force spokesman in the town, 50 km (30 miles) west of the capital, told Reuters after the first battle. People opposed to Gaddafi's 41-year rule have been fighting his forces in Zawiyah for more than a week, after rebels took over large parts of eastern Libya in an uprising inspired by the overthrow of veteran rulers inEgypt and Tunisia this year. Residents said Gaddafi forces stormed residential buildings and killed people inside to secure the rooftoops for snipers. A doctor in Zawiyah told Reuters at least 30 people, mostly civilians, had been killed during the morning clashes on Saturday, bringing to 60 the death toll from two days of battles for control of the coastal town. A reporter for Britain's Sky television said she had seen at eight dead soldiers and five burning armored vehicles in the central square. The doctor said Gaddafi's tanks had fired at residential buildings and civilian cars trying to flee. "There is a lot of destruction in the city, I look around and all I see is destruction. Bombed buildings and burning cars everywhere -- I cannot even count how many," he said. GADDAFI HOMETOWN Before the latest fighting, the rebels appeared to have half a dozen armored vehicles, a similar number of anti-aircraft guns and numerous machine guns. One fighter vowed to fight to the death. "Gaddafi will never enter this city. He will never set foot here. The only way for him to enter the city is when we are all dead. He has to kill us all to control the city," the rebel, who gave his name as Ibrahim, said by telephone. Rebels in eastern Libya said they were pushing further west after driving forces loyal to Gaddafi from the oil town of Ras Lanuf on Friday.
