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LIVE Libyan Unrest: Libyan forces have entered Sirte
12:43pm: Libyan provisional government forces entered the Muammar Gaddafi stronghold of Sirte on Saturday and came under heavy sniper fire as NATO planes roared overhead, Reuters journalists said.Huge plumes of black smoke rose over the town as National Transitional Council (NTC) forces massed in Zafran Square about 1 km (half a mile) from its centre. Gunfire could be heard from the town centre as NTC fighters moved tanks and mortars into the square.
NATO would not comment on its operations in Sirte on Saturday. It said its planes hit a number of targets on Friday, including an ammunition depot and an anti-aircraft gun.
11:49am: Fighting has claimed the lives of 30 interim government fighters in the campaign to capture the Gaddafi bastion of Bani Walid southeast of the Libyan capital, Dr Mabruk Kernaf said on Saturday.The National Transitional Council’s (NTC) northern front commander said another 50 had been wounded.
This was the first overall toll given on NTC casualties since the start of fighting.
Meanwhile, an AFP reporter reported rockets being fired by troops loyal to former Liban leader Muammar Gaddafi at an NTC position some five kilometres (three miles) outside the desert city, 180km south-east of Tripoli NTC fighters launched a widespread assault on the city on Sept 10, but withdrew the same night after encountering fierce resistance.
11:09am: Columns of military vehicles of Libya’s provisional government advanced on the Muammar Gaddafi stronghold of Sirte on Saturday as NATO planes roared overhead, Reuters journalists said.Explosions were heard inside the town, which along with the desert town Bani Walid is a last remaining bastion of support for the deposed leader.
The Reuters journalists saw forces of the ruling National Transitional Council advance from both the west and the south of Sirte.
At the western gate, gunners fired artillery towards the town. Both sides exchanged volleys of rockets and NATO jets flew overhead. Large plumes of black rose from inside the town.
The government forces have previously retreated from Sirte, Gaddafi’s hometown, and Bani Walid after poorly organised assaults met fierce resistance from Gaddafi loyalists.
10:30am: Muammar Gaddafi’s daughter has said in an audio recording that her father is in high spirits and fighting alongside his supporters against the revolutionary forces who swept his regime from power.In her first public remarks since the fall of Tripoli a month ago, Aisha Gaddafi accused the country’s new leaders of being traitors, noting that some of them were members of Gaddafi’s regime before defecting in the civil war.
“Those who have betrayed the pledge they offered [to Gaddafi], how come they won’t betray you?” she said in a warning to Libyans.
The prerecorded four-minute message was broadcast Friday on the Syrian-based Al-Rai TV, which has become Gaddafi’s main mouthpiece. The elder Gaddafi, his chief spokesman and his son and one-time heir apparent, Seif al-Islam, have also released statements through the channel since the takeover of Tripoli.
8:35am: After weeks of stalemate, rebel fighters loyal to Libya’s National Transitional Council (NTC) have pushed back Gaddafi’s forces and gained control of Sirte’s eastern gate.Al Jazeera’s Sue Turton reports from Sirte, Libya.
8:30am: Supporters of the former Libyan general Abdel Fattah Younes marched through the city of Benghazi. They are not satisfied with the NTC’s investigation into his death.His supporters have demanded swift justice. Otherwise, they said, action would be taken into their own hands.
