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AJE VIDEO #Libya n fighters make inroads into #Sirtealjazeera.com/news/africa/20…also new offensive launched in #BanWalid
| Libyan fighters make inroads into Sirte |
NTC forces claim to have captured several sites in Gaddafi's hometown, as new offensive is launched in Bani Walid. Last Modified: 09 Oct 2011 13:10 |
National Transitional Council (NTC) forces said on Sunday they had managed to take control of Al Giza district, where a large number of pro-Gaddafi forces were based, the Sirte university, and the Ibn Sina hospital. Some 15 Gaddafi loyalists were captured from the hopsital, a witness told the Reuters news agency. Despite facing stiff resistance from Gaddafi loyalists, they also captured the Ouagadougou conference centre, which is believed to have housed the command centre of Gaddafi's forces and was protected by a large number of snipers. Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr, reporting from the outskirts of Sirte, said: "They (NTC) are making further gains into Sirte. Loyalists are not only using small arms fire and snipers to slow the advance, they're also firing mortars to prevent anti-Gaddafi forces from taking control of this strategic complex," she said. The NTC fighters also launched a major offensive on Bani Walid, another town southeast of the capital Tripoli still controlled by Gaddafi forces. According to Al Jazeera correspondent near the desert town, NTC forces have reached the first mosque on the outskirts of Bani Walid. Abdullah Khansheel of the Bani Walid military council said NTC fighters were also in control of the airport, approximately 75km from the city centre. Sirte battle The fight to seize control of the Ouagadougou centre proved tough with Gaddafi loyalists entrenched in concrete bunkers. "It has been hit for days by tank guns and rockets, but it hasn't budged. Its paint has hardly been scratched," one NTC fighter said. |
Poor visibility caused by a sandstorm on Saturday delayed the prospect of ending a three-week standoff, during which thousands of residents have fled from the coastal city.
| Abdel-Basit Haroun, an NTC field commander, said 32 people had been killed in Sirte since anti-Gaddafi fighters began the "final push" operation on Friday. Hundreds more were reported wounded. Our correspondent spotted a few families managing to escape on Saturday, but she said it was difficult to tell how many more civilians were trapped inside the city as a result of the fighting. Sirte residents who oppose Gaddafi said his loyalists were preventing residents from leaving the town despite the lack of food, water and electricity. International organisations allowed into the embattled town to visit the hospitals said conditions were "dire", with patients sitting in corridors of buildings that got shelled. |
