Gaddafi town hit
Libya: Libyan fighters launched an assault on one of the last
bastions of ousted leader Muammar Gaddafi while the head of the
provisional government arrived for the first time in the capital and
warned that the fugitive former leader still posed a threat.
Fighters poured into the desert town of Bani Walid on Saturday after
a deadline set by the National Transitional Council (NTC) for Gaddafi
strongholds to surrender expired. Scores of men loyal to the fugitive
leader put up resistance.
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Gaddafi generals arrive in
Burkina Faso |
Burkina Faso:
A number of Libyan generals loyal to fugitive ruler Muammar
Gaddafi have reportedly arrived in Burkina Faso after passing
through Niger.
An unnamed source from Niger’s Tuareg community said on Friday
that a convoy of armored vehicles first brought the generals
into Niger via the northern Nigerien town of Agadez some three
to four weeks ago, AFP reported.
The source added that they then headed for Niamey, the capital
of Niger, and made a transaction at the Libyan bank Bisic before
entering Burkina Faso.
The convoy was escorted by a Tuareg rebel leader that had
longstanding ties with Gaddafi. He fled to Libya after he was
defeated in a war of independence for Tuareg nomads and was
believed to be fighting on behalf of Gaddafi.
The Tuareg are a nomadic pastoralist people and are the
principal inhabitants of the Saharan interior of North Africa.
They regularly provided mercenaries used by Gaddafi to fight
revolutionary fighters.
“We have knowledge that there have been more crossings into
Niger, but as to the contents of those convoys and who is
travelling in them, we don’t know,” Libyan National Transitional
Council spokesman Jalal al-Gallal said.
Gallal acknowledged that
neighboring Niger, with its porous borders and cash-strapped
economy, remains an easy escape route for the remnants of
Gaddafi’s regime.
Sunday, Press TV
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The provisional government, which is trying to establish its control
over the entire country and restore normal life, announced that it could
restart some production of the oil that underpins Libya’s economy within
three to four days.
Bani Walid, 150 km (95 miles) southeast of the capital, has emerged
as one of the final holdout towns for Gaddafi supporters making a stand
after NTC forces overran his Tripoli headquarters in late August.
Anti-Gaddafi fighters believe one or two of the ousted leader’s sons
may be holed up in the town. Some NTC officials have even suggested
Gaddafi might be there.
NTC fighters have had the town under siege for days and said they
would assault it on Saturday if it did not yield. Fighting broke out a
day early on Friday both there and near Gaddafi’s hometown of Sirte, one
of the other few holdout cities.
NATO confirmed its aircraft were flying missions over Bani Walid but
would not comment on any airstrikes.
The main NTC positions on the northern approaches to Bani Walid came
under fire, with sniper bullets and shells whistling over military
pick-up trucks scattered around the narrow valley.
“We are not far from liberating Bani Walid,” Daw Saleheen, a
representative of the NTC’s military council, said. “We urge Gaddafi
fighters to lay down their weapons. You can go to any house and will be
safe. It is not too late.”.
Two NTC commanders were killed and two wounded in the fighting.
Doctors said two Gaddafi soldiers and one NTC fighter were killed on
Friday. North Of Bani Walid, Sunday, Reuter |
