Earlier talks
Rebel negotiator Abdullah Kanshil said on Sunday that the earlier talks had broken down after Gaddafi loyalists insisted the fighters put down their weapons before entering Bani Walid, some 150km southeast of Tripoli.
Turton reported that fighters outside Bani Walid estimated the number of Gaddafi troops remaining in the town at less than 100.On Sunday Turton said the fighters were hoping the people in the town would rise up against supporters of Gaddafi. "This is aside from the Gaddafi loyalists who we've heard have come out, who are manning checkpoints ... civilians who have weapons," she said.Meanwhile, in Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte, in the east of the country, negotiations also continued for the city's surrender. Bani Walid and Sirte, along with Sabha deep in the Sahara desert, are the last pockets of support for Gaddafi whose whereabouts has been a mystery since he was toppled from power last month.
Sleeper groups
"This could be that that there are sleeper groups in that town [of Bani Walid] who are very much supporting the revolution and have started to rise in some parts of the town," he said.On Sunday, Al Jazeera's Andrew Simmons, reporting from Al-Saddadah, southeast of Tripoli, said he had heard reports of fighting within Bani Walid. Earlier on Sunday, speaking in the eastern city of Benghazi, Ahmed Bani, the NTC's military spokesman, said that its fighters were in control of key strategic points around Bani Walid."Soon Bani Walid will be liberated completely," he sa
