Snipers halt NTC fight for Gaddafi hometown

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Snipers halt NTC fight for Gaddafi hometown

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Pro-Gaddafi snipers halted a two-week old NTC assault on the ousted despot's hometown.

01 October,2011 06:08 am

Fighters for Libyas new rulers were forced to regroup Friday on the edge of Sirte, as pro-Gaddafi snipers halted a two-week old assault on the ousted despots hometown.And in Bani Walid, the only other stronghold of forces loyal to Moamer Gaddafi, the National Transitional Councils fighters appeared to have opened another front.As the NTC forces faced stiff resistance on the battlefield, doubts grew that Gaddafis vocal spokesman Mussa Ibrahim had been captured after reports he had been seized while disguised as a woman, complete with veil.But in the fiercest fighting for days, the NTC fighters pounded Sirte with 106mm anti-tank guns, rocket-launchers and machine guns, while Gaddafi loyalists hit back with mortar, machine-gun and sniper fire.One NTC fighter was killed and 11 wounded, a medic said, as NATO warplanes and drones flew overhead without striking.NTC fighters held the line on the eastern outskirts of the city amid some sporadic artillery shelling and gunfire, an eye-witness said.If we want we can destroy Sirte completely. We have enough ammunition and shells to fight for 10 years, said Nasser Obeidi, leader of a group operating four Russian-built 130mm artillery cannon.But we are allowing civilians to leave the city before we start a big assault. People are leaving the city daily, sometimes in large numbers, he said.At least 15 civilian cars were seen leaving Sirtes eastern gate, while about 1,000 evacuees were registered 50 kilometres (30 miles) west of the city, NTC officials said, adding they were detained 15 suspected Gaddafi supporters.In Benghazi, Red Cross official Abdelhamid al-Mendi said more than 50,000 Libyans have fled their homes since the war began in February.He said more than 18,000 had left Sirte and more than 25,000 others Bani Walid as of Wednesday.The numbers of impressive, but the situation is under control, thanks to the efforts of the Libyan Red Crescent, aid from the international Red Cross and other organisations.Obeidi acknowledged, however, that Gaddafi forces had deployed snipers in the city which was troubling the fighters.There are snipers deployed by Gaddafis men inside the city. They are targeting even civilian cars who are leaving the city, said Obeidi.But a former colonel in Gaddafis army who is now an NTC fighter supervising cannon outside Sirte said his forces were determined to win.Gaddafi diehards are posing problems, but it wont be for long. Our 130mm cannon are targeting their stationery targets like military and administrative command centres and weapons depots inside Sirte, said Mahmud Muftah.