LIBYA: NTC fighters unleash a barrage of tank and rocket fire on forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi during their sustained assault on Sirte

Record ID: 791590

  • Title: LIBYA: NTC fighters unleash a barrage of tank and rocket fire on forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi during their sustained assault on Sirte
  • Date: 8th October 2011
  • Summary: EAST OF SIRTE, LIBYA: (OCTOBER 7, 2011) (REUTERS) ENTRANCE OF SIRTE ROAD SIGN READS; "DOWNTOWN SIRTE" OVERVIEW OF SIRTE, PLUMES OF SMOKE IN THE BACKGROUND GRAD LAUNCHERS FIRING VARIOUS OF TANK FIRING VARIOUS OF NTC FIGHTERS HIDING IN SAND DUNES OVERVIEW OF SIRTE
  • Embargoed: 23rd October 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Libya
  • Country: Libya
  • Topics: Conflict,Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA6BTO3LUAI3FNW09YB97XY2CA2
  • Story Text: Libyan transitional government forces launched their biggest assault yet on Muammar Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte on Friday (October 7), firing heavy artillery at the last major bastion of support for the deposed leader.
    Taking the coastal town would bring Libya's new rulers closer to finally gaining control of the whole country almost two months after they seized the capital Tripoli, but they are also under pressure to spare the civilians trapped inside.
    Forces loyal to the ruling National Transitional Council (NTC), who for weeks have waited on the edge of Sirte, now say the battle is entering its final and decisive phase.
    The prolonged struggle of the NTC to capture a few remaining bastions of pro-Gaddafi loyalists has sidetracked its effort to establish effective government over the vast North African state and rebuild oil production vital to its economy.
    Columns of black smoke rose above Sirte's skyline as NTC forces fired tank shells and rounds of artillery toward the city centre from their positions to the east.
    Inside Sirte, on its northeastern corner, fighters said they had cleared out what is known locally as the "Mauritanian neighbourhood" after intense building-by-building fighting.
    Thousands of civilians have fled Sirte as fighting has intensified, describing increasingly desperate conditions for those inside the Mediterranean seafront city. One resident spoke of the stench of rotting corpses in the hospital.
    Anti-Gaddafi commanders started the day predicting a swift conclusion to the fighting and, for the first time in days, forces in the west and south of the city joined units in the east in a coordinated assault.
    NTC trucks with ammunition and artillery batteries were brought forward to the eastern front line, 1.2 km (0.8 miles) from the city centre.
    But Gaddafi loyalists used sniper fire and rocket-propelled grenades to prevent NTC forces from entering the city centre.
    Along with the desert town of Bani Walid, Sirte is one of the last redoubts of Gaddafi loyalists in the country he ruled alone for 42 years.
    NTC officials say they believe one of Muammar Gaddafi's sons, Mo'tassim, is in Sirte, though the deposed leader himself is though to be far to the south in the Sahara desert.
    Sirte, once a sleepy fishing village, was transformed by Gaddafi into a second capital. He built lavish hotels and conference halls to host foreign leaders.
    The extended fighting has raised concerns for civilians in the city of 75,000 people.
    The fighting is complicated by the fact that many residents of Sirte are members of Gaddafi's tribe and oppose the revolution which overthrew him.
    For NTC fighters, most of them from cities where Gaddafi is reviled, Sirte is synonymous with his rule. At a luxury hotel in the east of the city, one smiling government fighter carried away a statue of Gaddafi sitting on a camel that had been placed in the reception area.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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