Assault on Sirte

"Landep News"

Assault on Sirte

Libya’s new regime troops gained control over Sirte, the birthplace city of Muammar al-Qaddafi, after fierce resistance of the loyalists. They announced on Monday that the rebel army had seized control over the most important places in the city, a conference centre, and university campus and a hospital.
The taking of the city is most important for the National Transitional Council, which is waiting to officially announce the complete liberation of Libya and the new government which will lead the country through a transition to democracy.
The NTC has been recognized by the international community as the legitimate regime in Libya, and has been in control since August 23, when its troops overran the capital Tripoli, forcing Qaddafi and his loyal troops to flee.
The rebel troops also seized on Sunday the control over the airport of Bani Walid, an oasis 170 kilometers southeast of Tripoli. Bani Walid had offered a fierce resistance, taking by surprise the NTC troops on various occasions. The city has been targeted by the NTC troops for a month. NATO announced that its aviation struck three loyalist vehicles on Sunday.
In Sirte, the troops have seized the Ouagadougou conference centre, a very important target, since the centre has been built by Qaddafi to host the pan-African summits, as the former leader was involved in the continental policies and even chaired the African Union in 2009.
According to a NTC military official, the conference centre is now 100% into the hands of the new regime. Qaddafi’s portraits and the green flag of the regime have been torn down from the walls.
A massive firefight broke out in front of the Ibn Sina hospital in Sirte, where the doctors complained that it had been a “holocaust, not a hospital,” because the hospital lacked oxygen and drugs, and the people were moved from the upper floors to the corridors, to protect them against shelling.
NTC considers that one of Qaddafi’s sons, Mutassim, is trapped in Sirte, while another, Seif-al-Islam, is in Bani Walid, which would explain the ferocity of the resistance.
No one knows where Muammar al-Qaddafi is, no one has seen him since April, when he addressed the people on national television. Since then, he has systematically broadcasted audio messages via a Syrian television in which he constantly extolled the people of Libya to take arms and defend the country against neo-colonialism.
Last month it was believed that the leader may have gone to Burkina Fasso via Niger, an information the authorities in Burkina Fasso has denied.
Last week, the former prime minister of Qaddafi, which is now in the custody of the neighboring Tunisian government, said that in his opinion the former dictator was still in Libya and that he would never surrender. The former PM said he would fight to the death as long as there are some people to support him.
There is an international arrest warrant issued in the name of Muammar al-Qaddafi, which makes him vulnerable to arrest as soon as he is spotted anywhere in the world. Both NTC and NATO believe that the situation in Libya remains uncertain for as long as Qaddafi is still at large.

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