Reply #22: Gaddafi loyalists in Bani Walid prepare for last stand

[pinboy3niner]

Matthew Weaver posts at The Guardian's Live Blog:


Gaddafi loyalists in the town of Bani Walid are preparing for a possible last stand by firing grad rockets at Wadi Dinar and coating the main road with oil, AP reports.

In an article republished by the Washington Post it describes the town as a battle-field-in-waiting.

Residents describe leaving behind a virtual ghost town where food shops are nearly barren, electricity cuts are frequent and phone lines are down. Few people except for fighters dare to venture outside. The silence is broken by the exchange of fire from both sides and propaganda from a pro-Gadhafi radio station.

"The radio told us that NATO is out to get us and that the revolutionary forces want to steal our babies, kill us and rape us," said Ramadan Abdel-Rahman, who was fleeing with his wife and seven children, including a daughter less than two weeks old ...

Sniper nests dot the buildings and mortars and Grad rockets launchers are set up in the market.

Each foray by revolutionary fighters have met strong resistance, including the deadly aim of sharpshooters.

Residents told Reuters that Gaddafi loyalists are refusing to surrender.

"There is a lot of random shooting. It is much safer for my children to leave. Gaddafi militia men do not want to negotiate," Fathalla al-Hammali, 42, said, driving away from the town with his three young children.

Bani Walid resident Isa Amr, 35, said the town was running out of fuel, food and water, making it impossible for his family to stay any longer. "Rebels gave us some petrol, enough to drive to Tripoli. The rebels are really helping us," he said.

NTC field commanders said people in Bani Walid had been told in radio messages they had two days to leave town.

"I think only 10% of the people are Gaddafi supporters. They are fanatics. And the rest are waiting to be liberated. We have given them two more days to leave the city," NTC fighter Abumuslim Abdu said.

The country's new rulers have hesitated to employ heavy-handed tactics to seize Bani Walid, which is the traditional home of the Warfalla tribe, Libya's largest.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2011/sep/14/libya-middle-east-unrest-live-updates#block-5