Sirte Deadline: Anti-Gaddafi Fighters 'Dismayed'
There had been an ultimatum of midnight on Friday for people in the town to lay down their weapons - and the rebels had been gearing up for an assault for Saturday.
But that deadline has been extended for seven days by National Transitional Council (NTC) chairman Mustafa Abdul Jalil in the capital Tripoli.
And these military leaders who have pushed the Gaddafi forces back in recent days have told Sky News they feel blindsided by the decision.
They also claim to have been further outmanoeuvred by the negotiating tactics of pro-Gaddafi forces.
A senior unnamed member of the Gaddafi clan in the southern city of Sabha has now stepped forward as a negotiator with the NTC in Tripoli.
An anti-Gaddafi fighter on the frontline between Bin Jawad and Sirte
He is saying he will now negotiate on behalf of both Sabha and Sirte - two major Gaddafi strongholds.
This move has annoyed anti-Gaddafi troops, who felt they could move on Sabha if Sirte was taken away as a target - as the hunt for their former leader intensifies.
Now talks relating to both towns are holding up any military moves against soldiers of the former regime.
Commanders of anti-Gaddafi forces are also conscious of their men being left waiting in the desert in sweltering temperatures for another week.
Meanwhile, Nato continues to attack Gaddafi's heavy weapons, barracks and other military sites.
