Libyan government forces said on Tuesday they believed they had one of Muammar Gaddafi’s sons cornered in the centre of the deposed leader’s home town, but determined resistance was keeping them at bay. After weeks of
fighting, National Transitional Council (NTC) forces have taken most of Sirte and driven Gaddafi loyalists into two northern neighbourhoods near the Mediterranean shore.
Capturing the city, which Col. Gaddafi had turned into a showcase second capital, will consolidate the NTC’s control in Libya and allow it to focus on rebuilding the country, but international concern about civilians caught up in the fighting has mounted. One NTC commander said Col. Gaddafi fighters were defending their last two districts in Sirte tenaciously because Mo’tassim Gaddafi, his father’s national security adviser, was with them.
“There are a few (Gaddafi-held) pockets, mainly concentrated in the ‘Dollar’ neighbourhood,” said Colonel Mohammed Ajhseer. “According to the information we have, this is where Mo’tassim is, with another group.” As the fighting raged in the streets, terrified families were emerging from their houses and trying to leave.
NTC fighters surrounded their vehicles and searched them for weapons — a mark of the deep mistrust in Sirte, where many people belong to Col. Gaddafi’s tribe and opposed his overthrow.
— Reuters