LIBYA: Fighters under fire in Bani Walid

Record ID: 375122

  • Title: LIBYA: Fighters under fire in Bani Walid
  • Date: 19th September 2011
  • Summary: BANI WALID, LIBYA (SEPTEMBER 18, 2011) (REUTERS) ROAD LEADING UP TO LAST CHECKPOINT BEFORE BANI WALID MEN RUNNING, DRIVING AWAY FROM DIRECTION OF TOWN AFTER COMING UNDER FIRE FIGHTERS SHELTERING FROM FIRE FIGHTERS BEHIND VEHICLE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) LIBYAN COMMANDER, ABSALAM GNUNA, SAYING; "Regarding the position in Bani Walid, it's all under control. We have specifi
  • Embargoed: 4th October 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Libya
  • Country: Libya
  • Topics: Conflict,Defence / Military
  • Reuters ID: LVA4KQQFPOT86PP6DVO7GFT6HCCJ
  • Story Text: Fighters for Libya's National Transitional Council (NTC) came under sustained sniper and mortar fire at a checkpoint on the outskirts of Bani Walid on Sunday (September 18).
    The desert town remains a bastion of armed support for ousted leader Muammar Gaddafi, more than three weeks after Libyan rebels, backed by a NATO bombing campaign, took control of Tripoli.
    NTC fighters continue to meet stiff resistance in the town, and said fighting had been taking place there overnight.
    One NTC commander from Bani Walid said his forces were working according to a particular strategy, which included allowing some families remaining inside the town to escape.
    Gaddafi himself remains at large but senior members of his former regime, including his son Saif al-Islam, are believed by the NTC to still be in Bani Walid.
    At the checkpoint NTC forces interrogated a young man whom they believed to be an enemy combatant. The man, who was found outside Ban Walid, insisted he was a shepherd.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register