Reply #86: Gaddafi loyalists put Libyan forces to flight [View All]

[pinboy3niner]

(WRAPUP 5)

Fri Sep 16, 2011 6:35pm GMT

• Interim government fighters meet stiff resistance

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By Maria Golovnina and Alexander Dziadosz


BANI WALID/SIRTE, Libya, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Diehard loyalists of Muammar Gaddafi threw rockets, mortars and heavy gunfire at Libyan fighters who pushed into two besieged towns on Friday in a bid to end months of civil war and capture key figures from the old ruling system.

The smoke of battle hung over Gaddafi's home town of Sirte, on the Mediterranean coast between Tripoli and Benghazi, and Bani Walid, a tribal stronghold in the desert, as the motley forces of the National Transitional Council (NTC) mounted their biggest advances after weeks of stalemate and skirmishing.

But the word coming back from the frontlines to Reuters correspondents on the outskirts of both cities was that fierce defence was not being overcome quickly, nearly four weeks after the rebel coalition overran Gaddafi's capital.

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A Reuters correspondent watched anti-Gaddafi fighters move forward under mortar, rocket and sniper fire, edging from house to house and sheltering behind walls from shrapnel and bullets.

A faux-ancient castle built for Gaddafi on a hill in the centre of Bani Walid was also under attack, fighters said.

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http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFL5E7KF3X220110916?sp=true