Many in Surt, Libya, don't trust revolutionary forces

[rug]

By Ruth Sherlock, Los Angeles Times
October 3, 2011

Reporting from Surt, Libya— As fighters loyal to Libya's revolutionary government gain on the holdout city of Surt, residents are making it clear that the battle for hearts and minds is far from won.

The scrublands that surround Moammar Kadafi's hometown have become a confused patchwork of loyalties. As vehicles of the revolutionary forces patrolled the dusty villages in newly seized territory Sunday, many residents peered angrily from their homes.

"The rebels are worse than rats. NATO is the same as Osama bin Laden," said a father, his seven children crowding around him.

Surt has been a primary target in the seven-month NATO bombing campaign that helped rebel forces gain control of most of Libya. The intensity of the bombing, coupled with recent rocket attacks by the opposition forces, has turned Surt into a "living hell," several families said.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-libya-surt-20111003,0,2536449.story