Pro-Gaddafi forces battle NTC fighters in Tripoli

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Pro-Gaddafi forces battle NTC fighters in Tripoli

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Fighting breaks out in Tripoli for the first time since rebels took hold of the city in August.

14 October,2011 10:50 pm

Gunfights broke out in the Libyan capital Tripoli on Friday between dozens of supporters of deposed leader Muammar Gaddafi and forces of the new government.It was the first sign of armed resistance to the NTC in the city since its rebel brigades seized the capital and ended 42 years of one-man rule in August. Though the battles were small and casualties seemed light, it raised concerns the interim government could face an insurgency by Gaddafi loyalists.Hundreds of National Transitional Council (NTC) fighters in pick-up trucks shouting Allahu Akbar careered towards the Abu Salim neighbourhood, a centre of support for Gaddafi and the two sides exchanged automatic and heavy machinegun fire.Local people told a Reuters correspondent at the scene that a group of up to 50 armed men had appeared in Abu Salim earlier in the day and had chanted pro-Gaddafi slogans.NTC men said fighting also broke out in three other nearby neighbourhoods. One0 NTC fighter said Gaddafi told his supporters in a message on Thursday night (October 13) to rise up after Friday prayers.The former leader has released a number of audio recordings calling on loyalists to fight back.Four pro-Gaddafi gunmen were also captured in the Abu Salim neighbourhood, NTC commanders said. Dominated by apartment blocks, it was one of the last places to fall to the new government when the NTC took the city after a six month bloody civil war.