[ 2011-09-18 ]

Libyan NTC troops hit fierce Sirte resistance
SIRTE, Libya (AFP) - Forces of the new Libyan
regime were forced to retreat after earlier
pushing deeper into Sirte, hometown of ousted
leader Moamer Kadhafi, in the deadliest of three
days of fierce clashes.

Rocket, sniper and heavy artillery fire on
Saturday left at least 24 National Transitional
Council (NTC) fighters dead and more than 40
wounded, including a French freelance
videographer.

"The situation at the roundabout is pitiful. There
is no central command, we are retreating to
regroup and re-enter again from three fronts,"
said Al-Dhahira Brigade commander Saleb Abu
Shaala.

Pro-Kadhafi forces in Sirte, the ousted leader's
hometown, have put up stubborn resistance against
thousands of former rebel fighters massed in and
around the key town.

Abu Shaala said the clashes erupted at about 10:30
am (0830 GMT) Saturday and that Kadhafi's forces
used heavy artillery and rockets against them
while the anti-Kadhafi forces hit back with Grad
Rockets.

Abdel Nasser al-Sheikh, of the Misrata Military
Council, charged that the pro-Kadhafi troops were
firing from the Bin Hamal mosque.

"We cannot attack this place," he said.

"There is progress but snipers remain a problem,"
said fighter Fatha Allah, 18, returning from a
frontline he said had moved closer to the coast.

"We reached up to the city centre but there are
families there."

Six hours after the fighting began, NATO warplanes
flew overhead, while the roar of artillery fire
faded after rebels broke past a key roundabout in
the city's south, which was the scene of heavy
fighting on Friday.

But convoys of NTC fighters left Sirte again under
rocket fire late Saturday, failing to secure their
advances in what has proved a recurring pattern in
seven months of conflict.

Front-line fighters and commanders gave
contrasting reports of their progress in Sirte,
with men on the ground acknowledging they were
facing a tough and well-trained enemy while those
in charge downplayed the pockets of pro-Kadhafi
resistance.

"We don't even have five percent of Sirte because
we just go in and out," said Abdul Rauf
al-Mansuri, one of those taking up arms for the
new authorities.

He said that, despite the massive deployment of
armed vehicles in and around the town, only a
minority of the men were doing the heaviest of the
fighting.

Mansuri added that NTC forces did not control
large swathes of the city as claimed by a top
commander in Misrata and that they had also lost
their advantage by pulling back at night, giving
Kadhafi's men time to re-arm.

"If we controlled the city, we would sleep there,
but we don't," he said.

On the outskirts of Sirte, a medic with half his
face blown away was among the first men killed and
brought in from the front lines.

Khaled Safati "was a gentleman and very kind man
who always said he wasn't afraid to die," said Dr
Ali Maitiga, fighting back tears.

"He went to the front to bring back the injured
but came back dead," he added. The nearest major
hospital is 460 kilometres away in Libya's third
city of Misrata.

Other medics wept as Safati's body was brought in,
and repeatedly shouted "Allahu akbar" ("God is
greatest") before taking on an endless flood of
casualties, an AFP reporter witnessed.

Source - AFP

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