LIBYA: Rebel fighters hope for peaceful end to stand off at Muammar Gaddafi's stronghold of Bani Walid

Record ID: 561940

  • Title: LIBYA: Rebel fighters hope for peaceful end to stand off at Muammar Gaddafi's stronghold of Bani Walid
  • Date: 7th September 2011
  • Summary: 40 KM NORTH OF BANI WALID, LIBYA (SEPTEMBER 6, 2011) (REUTERS) REBELS SLEEPING NEAR ARMOURED VEHICLE PICK-UP TRUCK MOUNTED ANTI AIRCRAFT GUN VARIOUS OF THE REBELS SLEEPING REBEL CAR (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) REBEL FROM BANI WALID, MOHAMMED GANEYYAH, SAYING: "Nothing clear yet, but we are optimistic to end this stand off peacefully. The people will surrender because we are all brothers, and those who did commit crimes will be handed over. (Q: Any military action to be done?) We hope not." REBEL FLAG AT CHECKPOINT REBEL ARMOURED VEHICLES CAR DRIVING
  • Embargoed: 22nd September 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Libya
  • Country: Libya
  • Topics: Conflict,Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA60FZM1T2M082YCBF3B30TM7G9
  • Story Text: Libyan rebels positioned near the Muammar Gaddafi stronghold of Bani Walid said on Tuesday (September 6) they hoped the stand off with the town could end peacefully and without fighting.
    Rebels apparently plan to enter Bani Walid after reaching a deal with delegates from the town to avoid fighting, according to Al Jazeera television.
    The pan-Arab news channel, citing what it said were rebel sources, did not give further details on timing for the rebels to enter the town south of Tripoli.
    Negotiations continued outside a besieged Libyan town on Monday night (September 5), as rebel fighters tried to persuade tribal leaders still loyal to Gaddafi to lay down their arms and surrender.
    Rebel Mohammed Ganeyyah said they hoped the stand off would not result in more fighting.
    "Nothing clear yet, but we are optimistic to end this stand off peacefully. The people will surrender because we are all brothers, and those who did commit crimes will be handed over," he said.
    Along with Gaddafi's home town of Sirte on the Mediterranean coast and Sabha deep in the Sahara desert, Bani Walid is one of the last remaining pockets of pro-Gaddafi resistance to rebels who drove the veteran strongman out of Tripoli last month.
    The town's refusal to surrender to the rebels had given rise to expectations there would be another round of fighting.
    With rebel forces massing at its gates and NATO planes roaring overhead, the face-off now holds important clues as to whether Libya's interim ruling council, the National Transitional Council (NTC), will be capable of putting tribal divisions aside to negotiate a peaceful handover, or risk sliding back into bloodshed.
    Nestled in rocky hills about 150 km (90 miles) south of Tripoli, Bani Walid is an ancestral home to the Warfalla, Libya's biggest and most important tribe. They number about a million out of the country's six million population and with a long history of fluctuating allegiances, the Warfalla have long been the kingmakers of Libya's complex tribal politics
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register