LIBYA: Libyan fighters are securing the village of Wadi Garif, 5 kms west of Sirte, edging closer to taking over Muammar Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte, one of the last strongholds of Gaddafi loyalists

Record ID: 374870

  • Title: LIBYA: Libyan fighters are securing the village of Wadi Garif, 5 kms west of Sirte, edging closer to taking over Muammar Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte, one of the last strongholds of Gaddafi loyalists
  • Date: 17th September 2011
  • Summary: SIRTE, LIBYA (SEPTEMBER 16, 2011) (REUTERS) VARIOUS ANTI-GADDAFI FIGHTERS ON ARMOURED VEHICLES MOVING TOWARDS CITY NTC FORCES ON TRUCKS VARIOUS NTC FIGHTERS GATHERING ON LOOK-OUT ARMOURED VEHICLES ENTERING CITY
  • Embargoed: 2nd October 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Libya
  • Country: Libya
  • Topics: Conflict
  • Reuters ID: LVABU2Y2WGLAG0SS9ZT25UM2989V
  • Story Text: The forces of Libya's new leaders attacked the besieged town of Sirte on Friday (September 16), pushing forward as they tried to finish off resistance from diehard supporters of Muammar Gaddafi.
    On the outskirts of Sirte, Gaddafi's birthplace on the Mediterranean coast, another Reuters correspondent watched scores of trucks mounted with heavy machineguns, as well as four tanks, advancing on the sprawling seaside city.
    Explosions, rapid gunfire and the scream of heavy rockets came from the centre of the city as black clouds of smoke curled into the sky above. NATO planes roared overhead.
    Nearly four weeks after a ragged coalition of rebel fighters, backed by a six-month NATO air campaign, overran his capital and ended his 42 years of personal rule, Gaddafi, 69, is still at large and commanding loyalty from at least hundreds of armed men, concentrated from Sirte, through Bani Walid and deep into the Sahara desert around the southern city of Sabha.
    The new leadership, struggling to maintain unity and restore order as international powers line up to offer aid and seek contracts for oil and reconstruction contracts, says Gaddafi and his sons and aides pose a threat, at the very least of insurgent attacks, and wants to capture their last bastions.
    At Sirte, NTC fighters massed around a breeze-block mosque on the outskirts, while others drove on towards the centre accompanied by two tanks. Mohammed, a 23-year-old fighter from the city of Misrata said the resistance was coming from pockets of Gaddafi supporters dotted around a city which Gaddafi developed from a village into a would-be "capital of Africa".
    Al Jazeera television said NTC forces had taken Sirte's airport, which lies some 10 km (six miles) south of the city. Gaddafi's spokesman said he had thousands of supporters.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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