@ Marguer_dMarguerite Dehler
RT @protestwatch: Sth of Tripoli, town celebrates rebel arrival: "Snipers were on many buildings intimidate ... reut.rs/nWhfxW #Libya
(Reuters) - Standing in the main square of the Libyan town of Garyan where his brother was killed by a sniper days before rebels arrived, Muammar al-Sharif vows he will not let Muammar Gaddafi's forces take the town back.
Like hundreds of others, Sharif attended the first Friday Muslim prayers after the city fell. Rebels say they have cleared snipers and government troops from the town three days ago.
Garyan, which controls the highway south out of Tripoli, was one of two key objectives they seized in the past week, along with Zawiyah in the west, to put the capital under effective siege.
"If Gaddafi tries to come back we will resist. We'll take up arms," Sharif said before shouting "God is great" with other residents gathering after Friday prayers. Some climbed a captured tank left by the rebels in the square.
"A sniper killed my 39-year old brother three days before Gaddafi lost control of the town," he said, pointing to the top floor of the building of an insurance firm where rebels said a sniper had held out until the end.
