Libyabn rebels meet tough resistance at Gaddafi stronghold

Rebels advancing on the town of Bani Walid come under rocket attacks from hundreds of soldiers loyal to Gaddafi Anti-Gaddafi forces are closing in on one of the four towns still controlled by the Libyan dictator but are meeting fierce resistance from up to 1,000 fighters. Rebel fighters launched an assault on the town of Bani Walid on Friday and had hoped to capture it overnight but they were hit with rocket attacks. Despite the bombardment, columns of vehicles drove toward the frontline, with fighters in pick-up trucks shaking their fists in the air and shouting “Here come the Libyans.” “We are going in today,” Abdullah Kanshil, an official of the ruling National Transitional Council (NTC), told reporters outside the town, 150 km (95 miles) south-east of Tripoli. “Civilians will be protected. We are already inside the city and we have found rocket launchers in the houses. We have thousands of fighters,” he said. Kanshil said about 1,000 soldiers loyal to Gaddafi were defending the town – many more than the 150 previously estimated. “They are launching Grad rockets from private houses so Nato (warplanes) cannot do anything about it,” he said. Heavy fighting erupted around Bani Walid and the coastal city of Sirte, Gaddafi’s birthplace, on Friday, a day before the deadline for a negotiated surrender set by the NTC. NTC officials said the truce was effectively over, paving the way for what could prove the final battles of a civil war that evolved from February’s popular uprising against Gaddafi. He said he believed hundreds of “extremely professional” soldiers from all parts of the country were defending the town. Akram Ramadan, a fighter outside Bani Walid, said after overnight skirmishes: “Gaddafi gangs are resisting very hard, they have mercenaries, volunteers and snipers.” Libya Middle East Muammar Gaddafi Africa Lisa O’Carroll guardian.co.uk

Posted by on September 10, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.