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| Africa North |
| NTC Fighters Enter Bani Walid |
| 2011-09-11 |
| [Tripoli Post] Fighters from the National Transitional Council, NTC, Friday night launched a two-pronged assault on one of only four towns still under the control of former Libyan dictator, Muammar Al Qadaffy ...Custodian of Wheelus AFB for 42 long years... loyalist fighters clashing with the runaway Al Qadaffy's supporters inside Bani Walid, with revolutionary forces leaders saying that a weeklong standoff dissolved into street-to-street battles. The NTC forces launched the attack a few hours before the deadline set by the NTC for surrender. With fierce fighting on going, sources close to the revolutionaries said they were close to capturing Bani Walid, the town 140 kilometres from Tripoli. They said they should soon come within the centre of the town. Fighting had begun after forces loyal to Al Qadaffy fired rockets at positions occupied by the NTC fighters. NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions... then began Bani Walid and the other three towns of Sirte, Sabha and Jufra to resist the country's new leadership, had been given until Saturday to surrender to surrender or face an offensive but decided to attack Friday evening after Al Qadaffy forces fired volleys of rockets at the fighters' positions around the town. After weeks of preparing for an attack on the Al Qadaffy hometown and still loyalists-held city of Sirte on the Mediterranean coast fierce fighting was also reported to the east of the city, but according to an NTC fighters' front man they were forced to pull back after taking heavy casualties in close-quarters fighting, In the attack on Bani Walid, the anti-Al Qadaffy forces moved in from the east and south. Once inside the town they engaged in clashed with Al Qadaffy's men close to the centre of the town. Abdullah Kanshil, the former rebels' chief negotiator, said the NTC forces were fighting gunnies positioned in houses in the town and the hills that overlooked it. Other reports indicate that there has also been hand-to-hand combat with what have been described as Al Qadaffy's professional fighters, although some had been throwing away their weapons as the rebel fighters approached. Although before the evening assault on Bani Walid, Friday, Al Qadaffy holdouts fired a barrage of Grad missiles, mortars and rockets toward the fighters' position killing one and injuring others. Kanshil said the anti-Al Qadaffy fighters are inside the city. "They are fighting with snipers. They forced this on us and it was in self-defence," he said. He added that Al Qadaffy loyalists had been maimed and three killed, while the former rebels had one dead and four maimed. He said the former rebels had taken seven prisoners. Daw Salaheen, the chief commander for the anti-Al Qadaffy forces' operation at Bani Walid, confirmed that his fighters responded with their own rocket fire, and advanced on the town. With NATO planes circling above, loud kabooms had also been heard about 10 kilometres from the frontline, followed by plumes of black smoke in the already hazy air. Kanshil said the NTC fighters believed that there were about 600 Al Qadaffy supporters in and around Bani Walid. "Snipers are scattered over the hills and the rebels want to chase them," he said. "There is hand-to-hand combat. The population is afraid so we have to go and protect civilians." On the Sirte front, there was a heavy exchange of fire about 60km east of the city, in the Red Valley region which the NTC announced it had captured on Thursday. The NTC fighters witnessed incoming rocket and mortar fire from Al Qadaffy loyalist forces, with the rebels firing back with anti-aircraft guns. But according to reports, they are still a long way from the city. However, there's more than one way to skin a cat... the anti-Al Qadaffy fighters are determined to keep pushing forward and although Sirte may not fall according to their leaders' timetable, they are sure that it will fall. Meanwhile in Tripoli, tens of thousands of people on Friday took part in a march to remember those who were killed by the Al Qadaffy forces near the eastern district of Tajoura on February 25 during the early phase of the Libyan uprising. The capital was turned into a huge victory parade, with residents all waving the red, black and green flag of the new Libya and clogging both sides of the main road with their vehicles. At the same time they wanted to pass on a message to the Al Qadaffy loyalists to lay down arms, thus avoiding unnecessary bloodshed as they have nothing to gain by fighting or protecting the former dictator. |
| Posted by:Fred |