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Gunfire may be prelude to all-out battle in Libya
Source: Agencies |
September 10, 2011, Saturday
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MOAMMAR Gadhafi supporters and forces of Libya's new leaders traded deadly rocket fire yesterday in skirmishes that could be a prelude to all-out fighting over one of Gadhafi's last remaining strongholds.
Also yesterday, Interpol said it has issued its top most-wanted alert for the arrest of Gadhafi, his son Seif al-Islam and the country's ex-chief of military intelligence, all sought by the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity.
Gadhafi hasn't been seen in public for months and went underground after anti-regime fighters swept into Tripoli on August 21. As the National Transitional Council tries to establish its authority in Libya, speculation about Gadhafi's whereabouts has centered on his Mediterranean hometown of Sirte, southern Sabha, and Bani Walid, 140 kilometers southeast of Tripoli. Gadhafi loyalists in all three towns have been given until today to surrender, or face an all-out battle.
Yesterday, Gadhafi holdouts fired mortars and rockets from Bani Walid. Daw Salaheen, chief commander for the anti-Gadhafi forces at Bani Walid, said his fighters responded with their own rocket fire and advanced on the town.
"The deadline is still tomorrow to enter Bani Walid," Salaheen said.
One of Salaheen's fighters returning from the front line, Abdullah Warfali, said forces were about six kilometers from Bani Walid at one point, and that his group had lost one man and killed two Gadhafi loyalists in fighting yesterday.
Anti-Gadhafi forces around Bani Walid unloaded hundreds of boxes of ammunition and ordinance, and reinforcements in gun-mounted trucks rushed toward the front line in the desert sand.
"Our men are preparing for an attack, probably tomorrow," said Abdel-Razak al-Nazouri, a commander in the region.
Another fighter in the region, Osama al-Fassi, said: "We are preparing for war."
In Tripoli Thursday, Mahmoud Jibril, the head of the former rebels' acting Cabinet, said that a new government can be formed only after the whole country is "liberated."
Jibril also told reporters negotiations for the peaceful takeover of Bani Walid, Sirte and Sabha were an opportunity to avoid further bloodshed, but said his forces would respond if attacked. He criticized Bani Walid's leaders, saying they had shown "no real initiatives or intentions to give peace a chance and bring unity back to the Libya people."
Also yesterday, Interpol said it has issued its top most-wanted alert for the arrest of Gadhafi, his son Seif al-Islam and the country's ex-chief of military intelligence, all sought by the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity.
Gadhafi hasn't been seen in public for months and went underground after anti-regime fighters swept into Tripoli on August 21. As the National Transitional Council tries to establish its authority in Libya, speculation about Gadhafi's whereabouts has centered on his Mediterranean hometown of Sirte, southern Sabha, and Bani Walid, 140 kilometers southeast of Tripoli. Gadhafi loyalists in all three towns have been given until today to surrender, or face an all-out battle.
Yesterday, Gadhafi holdouts fired mortars and rockets from Bani Walid. Daw Salaheen, chief commander for the anti-Gadhafi forces at Bani Walid, said his fighters responded with their own rocket fire and advanced on the town.
"The deadline is still tomorrow to enter Bani Walid," Salaheen said.
One of Salaheen's fighters returning from the front line, Abdullah Warfali, said forces were about six kilometers from Bani Walid at one point, and that his group had lost one man and killed two Gadhafi loyalists in fighting yesterday.
Anti-Gadhafi forces around Bani Walid unloaded hundreds of boxes of ammunition and ordinance, and reinforcements in gun-mounted trucks rushed toward the front line in the desert sand.
"Our men are preparing for an attack, probably tomorrow," said Abdel-Razak al-Nazouri, a commander in the region.
Another fighter in the region, Osama al-Fassi, said: "We are preparing for war."
In Tripoli Thursday, Mahmoud Jibril, the head of the former rebels' acting Cabinet, said that a new government can be formed only after the whole country is "liberated."
Jibril also told reporters negotiations for the peaceful takeover of Bani Walid, Sirte and Sabha were an opportunity to avoid further bloodshed, but said his forces would respond if attacked. He criticized Bani Walid's leaders, saying they had shown "no real initiatives or intentions to give peace a chance and bring unity back to the Libya people."
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