Rebels capture first prisoners in Bani Walid after meeting fierce resistance from hundreds of soldiers loyal to Gaddafi
Libyan rebels speed towards the frontline of Bani Walid. Photograph: Zohra Bensemra/Reuters
Anti-Gaddafi forces have finally entered Bani Walid, one of the four remaining Gaddafi strongholds, returning to their positions outside the town with their first batch of prisoners.
The anti-Gaddafi forces had hoped to capture the town on Friday but met fierce resistance from up to 600 fighters, sustaining rocket and grenade attacks. At the same time, Reuters reported the sound of at least five Nato airstrikes near the town.
After a week long stand-off over demands for a peaceful surrender of the town, rebels launched their assault on the town and had hoped to capture it on Friday.
On Saturday, more volunteers poured in from the Libyan capital and other towns to join what they expected to be the final battle for the town, one of the ousted leader's last remaining strongholds.
Around lunchtime the rebels emerged in a pick-up truck with seven prisoners including a brigadier.
It is now three weeks since they captured Tripoli and the ruling National Transitional Council (NTC) needs to demonstrate it is in full control even though the whereabouts of Gaddafi are still unknown.
It had originally given soldiers loyal to the ousted leader until Saturday to surrender but said they were drawn into fighting on Friday night.
"We are going in today," Abdullah Kanshil, an official of the NTC told reporters outside the town, 95 miles south-east of Tripoli.
"Civilians will be protected. We are already inside the city and we have found rocket launchers in the houses. We have thousands of fighters," he said.
Kanshil said about 1,000 soldiers loyal to Gaddafi were defending the town – many more than the 150 previously estimated.
"They are launching Grad rockets from private houses so Nato (warplanes) cannot do anything about it," he said.
Heavy fighting erupted around Bani Walid and the coastal city of Sirte, Gaddafi's birthplace, on Friday, a day before the deadline for a negotiated surrender set by the NTC.
NTC officials said the truce was effectively over, paving the way for what could prove the final battles of a civil war that evolved from February's popular uprising against Gaddafi.
He said he believed hundreds of "extremely professional" soldiers from all parts of the country were defending the town.
Akram Ramadan, a fighter outside Bani Walid, said after overnight skirmishes: "Gaddafi gangs are resisting very hard, they have mercenaries, volunteers and snipers."
Source: BBC News, guardian.co.uk,
The anti-Gaddafi forces had hoped to capture the town on Friday but met fierce resistance from up to 600 fighters, sustaining rocket and grenade attacks. At the same time, Reuters reported the sound of at least five Nato airstrikes near the town.
After a week long stand-off over demands for a peaceful surrender of the town, rebels launched their assault on the town and had hoped to capture it on Friday.
On Saturday, more volunteers poured in from the Libyan capital and other towns to join what they expected to be the final battle for the town, one of the ousted leader's last remaining strongholds.
Around lunchtime the rebels emerged in a pick-up truck with seven prisoners including a brigadier.
It is now three weeks since they captured Tripoli and the ruling National Transitional Council (NTC) needs to demonstrate it is in full control even though the whereabouts of Gaddafi are still unknown.
It had originally given soldiers loyal to the ousted leader until Saturday to surrender but said they were drawn into fighting on Friday night.
"We are going in today," Abdullah Kanshil, an official of the NTC told reporters outside the town, 95 miles south-east of Tripoli.
"Civilians will be protected. We are already inside the city and we have found rocket launchers in the houses. We have thousands of fighters," he said.
Kanshil said about 1,000 soldiers loyal to Gaddafi were defending the town – many more than the 150 previously estimated.
"They are launching Grad rockets from private houses so Nato (warplanes) cannot do anything about it," he said.
Heavy fighting erupted around Bani Walid and the coastal city of Sirte, Gaddafi's birthplace, on Friday, a day before the deadline for a negotiated surrender set by the NTC.
NTC officials said the truce was effectively over, paving the way for what could prove the final battles of a civil war that evolved from February's popular uprising against Gaddafi.
He said he believed hundreds of "extremely professional" soldiers from all parts of the country were defending the town.
Akram Ramadan, a fighter outside Bani Walid, said after overnight skirmishes: "Gaddafi gangs are resisting very hard, they have mercenaries, volunteers and snipers."
Source: BBC News, guardian.co.uk,
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