Reply #67: Libyan veteran prepares assault on pro-Gaddafi bastion

[tabatha]

Daw Saleheen, who leads regional forces battling for control of Bani Walid, said Gaddafi loyalists had positioned rockets and mortar launchers on civilian houses in the town, 180 km (110 miles) south of Tripoli.

Saleheen said his men would have to face about 1,200 pro-Gaddafi fighters, including 200 snipers perched on rooftops.

"We know all their positions. We have sent a message to all civilians that if they can, they must leave now," he told reporters on the northern outskirts of Bani Walid, his home town.

Hundreds of residents have poured out of the town in the past three days in cars crammed with children and possessions. A convoy of around 160 families left on Wednesday.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/14/us-libya-bastion-idUSTRE78D3PK20110914