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29 March 2024

Clashes flare at Gaddafi strongholds

Published
By AFP

Fighters backing the new regime in Libya clashed with forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi at Bani Walid and moved closer to Sirte as one of Gaddafi's sons arrived in Niger.

As fighting continued, Mahmud Jibril, deputy head of the National Transitional Council, said in Libyan capital Tripoli on Sunday that a new transitional government would be formed within 10 days.

Rebel forces were still "in the process of liberating Libya, and revolutionary combatants are still on the fronts," Jibril said. Another government would be formed once "Libya is liberated", he added.

In Bali Walid, an AFP correspondent said at least three fighters were killed and 15 wounded in skirmishes on the outskirts of the town.

Forces loyal to Libya's new rulers have gathered there awaiting the signal to storm the oasis town.

NTC interim leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil on Saturday gave the green light to attack Bani Walid southeast of Tripoli, Kadhafi's hometown Sirte to the east and Sabha in the deep south. The deadline for pro-Kadhafi enclaves to surrender had passed, he said.

The whereabouts of Moamer Kadhafi remain a mystery.

Streams of NTC fighters backed by armoured vehicles mounted with anti-aircraft guns arrived Sunday and took up positions around Bani Walid, 180 kilometres (110 miles) from Tripoli, an AFP correspondent said.

The fighters said they had routed Gaddafi loyalists and snipers from Wadidinar, a valley in the shadow of Bani Walid, during their advance on the town.

Clashes erupted in the afternoon in the neighbourhoods of Al-Mansila and Al-Hawasim, according to fighter Ahmed al-Warfalli, but military commanders insisted that the main assault had yet to begin.

By evening, ambulances were rushing to and from the front line, and an AFP reporter counted three fighters killed and 15 wounded. Rebel fighters said they had lost as many as 10 men.

Skirmishes on Friday night saw four NTC fighters killed and 26 wounded.

An emergency services doctor operating a field clinic in the hamlet of Wishtata, 40 kilometres (25 miles) from Bani Walid, said most of the wounded were being treated for sniper shots and explosions.

NTC leader Abdel Jalil arrived on Saturday to a red-carpet welcome at Tripoli's Metiga military base where he was mobbed by hundreds of supporters.

The visit, his first to Tripoli since his forces seized the city last month, was eagerly awaited in the hope that it would help tackle rivalries emerging among the groups that overthrew Gaddafi.

Anti-Gaddafi fighters in Misrata have started to challenge NTC authority, refusing to turn over abandoned tanks as requested by interim leaders.

In western Libya, at least 12 people were killed and 16 wounded when two groups of fighters opposed to Gaddafi turned on each other, two officials said on Sunday.