LIBYA: Fighters of the National Transitional Council say they have secured the main road to the city centre in order to open up a route for residents to leave

Record ID: 374906

  • Title: LIBYA: Fighters of the National Transitional Council say they have secured the main road to the city centre in order to open up a route for residents to leave
  • Date: 23rd September 2011
  • Summary: SIRTE, LIBYA (SEPTEMBER 22, 2011) (REUTERS) NATIONAL TRANSITIONAL COUNCIL (NTC) FIGHTERS ON TRUCKS WITH TRUCK-MOUNTED HEAVY WEAPONS VARIOUS OF FIGHTERS STANDING ON THE BACK OF PICKUP TRUCKS BULLET-RIDDEN WALL MORTARS LANDING BEHIND LINE OF FIGHTERS FIGHTERS ON TRAFFIC ISLAND, SOUND OF GUNFIRE FIGHTING, CRIES OF 'ALLAHU AKBAR' FIGHTERS TRAVELLING ALONG MAIN ROAD IN S
  • Embargoed: 8th October 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Libya
  • Country: Libya
  • Topics: Conflict
  • Reuters ID: LVA3O84B8TU9OF6XEPOKHCY0UAN7
  • Story Text: Fighters of the National Transitional Council (NTC) have entered Sirte but have yet to reach the city centre where Muammar Gaddafi loyalists are maintaining their position, fighters said on Thursday (September 22).
    On the main road into central Sirte, but still 2km from the centre, fighters said they had begun securing areas of the city.
    "We were just on the road to Sirte, a route has been opened for people to leave. Thank God, they will soon get a truck with 40,000 litres of petrol, to fill up on petrol, and they will get food and drink and cold water," said an NTC fighter.
    The NTC are treading carefully to avoid civilian casualties.
    Forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi who control the city of Sirte have been executing residents suspected of sympathising with Libya's new rulers, forces backing the country's interim government and fleeing residents said.
    On the Mediterranean coast about 450 km (280 miles) east of Tripoli, Sirte is Gaddafi's hometown and one of just a handful of places in Libya still held by fighters loyal to him.
    National Transitional Council (NTC) forces have surrounded the city for a week, but say their progress has been stymied largely because there are many civilians still inside the city, where residents report shortages of basic goods.
    Hundreds of civilians continued to pour out of the city on Thursday (September 22) in cars and pickups loaded with mattresses and food as the former rebel fighters fired machine guns and incoming rockets crashed on the city's outskirts.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register