Talks fail for surrender of Gaddafi bastion

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Talks fail for surrender of Gaddafi bastion

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Negotiations for the surrender of Moammer Gaddafis forces in the Libyan town of Bani Walid failed.

05 September,2011 07:15 am

I am leaving the military commander to resolve the problem, said Abdullah Kenshil, the chief negotiator for the anti-Gaddafi National Transitional Council (NTC).The town southeast of Tripoli is one of the last strongholds of pro-Gaddafi fighters where at least one of the ousted despots sons is reputed to be hiding.Kenshil said the fighters had wanted to come out with their weapons but were refused.They demanded that the revolutionaries enter Bani Walid without their weapons, he added, charging that it was a pretext for an ambush.Kenshil also said Gaddafi himself, his sons and many of his family had been in Bani Walid, without specifying when. Some had left but two of Gaddafis sons, Saadi and Mutassim, are suspected of still being there.Negotiations through the intermediary of tribal leaders began several days ago with the hope of taking Bani Walid without bloodshed.Meanwhile NTC military spokesman Ahmed Omar Bani confirmed earlier reports of the death of Gaddafis son Khamis, and said that the son of the strongmans spy master Abdullah Senussi was also killed.I can confirm that Khamis and Mohammed (Senussi) both of them (were) killed around Tarhuna, he told reporters in Benghazi, adding that Khamis had been buried near Bani Walid and Mohammed in southern Libya.Khamis, 28, the youngest son of Gaddafi, commanded a brigade seen as the most effective and loyal force of the Libyan leader. Rebel fighters captured its base south of Tripoli in fierce fighting last week.Bani Walid is the heartland of the powerful Warfalla tribe, which made up the core of Gaddafis army and was given top political positions within the regime.But it has split over whether to back Gaddafi or not, said tribesmen who have sided with the NTC and are among the NTC forces besieging the town.