Forces of Libya's interim ruling council are poised for an
assault on the desert town of Bani Walid after negotiators failed to persuade
Muammar Gaddafi loyalists to abandon one of their last remaining bastions.
The town is one of just a
handful of areas in Libya still under the control of Gaddafi loyalists after a
six-month rebellion ousted the leader from Tripoli last month.
Outside the town, a negotiator
for the National Transitional Council forces now in control of the country said
talks with tribal leaders were over.
"As chief negotiator, I
have nothing to offer right now. From my side, negotiations are finished,"
Abdallah Kanshil said at a checkpoint some 60 km (38 miles) outside Bani Walid.
"They said they don't
want to talk, they are threatening everyone who moves. They are putting snipers
on high rise buildings and inside olive groves, they have a big fire force. We
compromised a lot at the last minute," he said.
It would be up to the NTC to
decide what to do next, he added. "I urge Gaddafi people to leave the town
alone."
Tribal elders from Bani Walid
had come out to negotiate after NTC spokesmen said several times over the
previous day that talks were over and they were about to attack.
There has been speculation
from NTC officials that members of Gaddafi's family, perhaps even the former
Libyan leader himself, may be hiding there.
No comment was available from
the other side.
Anti-Gaddafi forces have also
closed in on the deposed leader's birthplace in the coastal city of Sirte.
"There are ongoing
negotiations regarding Sirte between the elders and various tribes and the free
Libya forces surrounding Sirte," NTC military spokesman Ahmed Bani said in
Benghazi. "The time is coming when talk is done with and we will enforce
our will upon liberating the city of Sirte."
To the east of Sirte fighters
were dug in and also said they were ready to advance.
"We are awaiting the
green light from the council," said Naji al-Maghrabi, commander of a
brigade. "If they tell us, 'Move into Sirte now,' we will."
One fighter, Belqassem
Souliman, said: "They have no way out but to surrender or die."
HUMANITARIAN CONCERNS
Independent accounts from the
three pro-Gaddafi bastions of Sirte, Bani Walid and Sabha, deep in the Sahara desert,
have not been available as communications appear to be cut off.
The UN's senior humanitarian
official in Libya said he was worried about humanitarian problems in the few
pockets of territory where Gaddafi loyalists are still in control.
"We are looking very
closely at the situation in Sirte," said Panos Moumtzis, UN humanitarian
coordinator for Libya.
"We are preoccupied about
the protection of civilians in this area. We understand that there is a
dialogue taking place. We would really like to see a peaceful solution as fast
as possible."
Earlier Sunday NTC negotiator
Abdul Azil said NATO-backed NTC forces were just 10 km from Bani Walid and
inching forward, ready to attack what he said were an estimated 100 pro-Gaddafi
fighters there.
"We are waiting for the
order for our commanders to go into the city. We have told them we are coming.
Everyone should stay at home. Hopefully it will be done without
bloodshed," he said, as NATO warplanes roared overhead.
In Tripoli, life has started
returning to normal after last month's fighting and a Muslim holiday last week.
Traffic has become heavy as fuel supplies improved. Cafes are busy and offices
have begun opening.
NTC officials have announced
plans to bring their heavily-armed fighters under control and try to integrate
thousands of them into the police force and find jobs for others.
Officials said there would
also be retraining and reintegration schemes for those who fought for Gaddafi.
The disintegration of
Gaddafi's rule after a six-month war has left a security vacuum in Libya, with
no state security forces. There are also large numbers former rebel fighters
who are not part of any formal structure, and huge quantities of unsecured
weapons.
After chasing out Gaddafi from
his Tripoli compound last month, Libya's new rulers are trying to control the
entire country and restore normality.
But in an early sign of
divisions, Ismail al-Salabi, a Libyan Islamist military commander who fought
Gaddafi's forces called on the interim cabinet to resign because they were
"remnants of the old regime."
A spokesman for Gaddafi, who
has been in hiding since his foes seized Tripoli on August 23, has dismissed
talk of surrender and said powerful tribal leaders were still loyal to him.
"He's in the
country," Moussa Ibrahim told Reuters Friday in a call from an undisclosed
location. "He's in a safe place surrounded by many people who are prepared
to protect him.
(Reporting by Mohammed
Abbas, Christian
Lowe and Alex Dziadosz
in Tripoli, Sherine El Madany in Umm Qundil, Emma Farge in Benghazi, Marie-Louise Gumuchian, Barry Malone and Alastair
Macdonald in Tunis,
and Amena Bakr and Omar Fahmy in Cairo; Writing by
Alastair Macdonald and Marie-Louise Gumuchian; Editing by Peter Graff)
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Source : Reuters
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