Gaddafi diehards capture Bani Walid: local official

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Gaddafi diehards capture Bani Walid: local official

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Supporters of slain Libyan dictator Moammar Gaddafi seized control of Bani Walid.

24 January,2012 05:18 am

Diehard supporters of slain Libyan dictator Moammar Gaddafi seized control Monday of Bani Walid, his one-time bastion, after launching a brazen attack at a base there that killed five, officials told AFP.The loyalists of Gaddafi took control of the entire city of Bani Walid, said Mbarek al-Fotmani, a former member of the ruling National Transitional Council (NTC) in the desert oasis, 170 kilometres (110 miles) south of Tripoli.The assault on the base of ex-rebels was the first major offensive launched by Gaddafi loyalists since the liberation of Libya on October 23, shortly after the fall of Bani Walid.Fotmani said the daylight attack on the stronghold of men who helped oust Gaddafis regime last year killed five thuwar (anti-Gaddafi revolutionaries, including a commander. Around 30 ex-rebels were also injured, he said.Mahmud Warfelli, spokesman of Bani Walid local council, said earlier that the attack was launched by a group of remnants of the old regime, and called for outside help against a feared massacre.There are around 100 and 150 men armed with heavy weapons who are attacking. We have asked for the army to intervene, but the defence ministry and NTC have let us down, he said.The gunmen took control and hoisted the green flag on some districts, some important districts in the centre of the city, Warfelli added.Were out of the frying pan into the fire. Weve been warning about this for the past two months.Fotmani, said the assailants had circled the former rebels base.The compound of thuwar is surrounded on all sides by loyalists of Gaddafi who are attacking it with all kinds of weapons, said Fotmani.The attackers are carrying green flags, symbol of the Gaddafi regime, he said from inside the base.Fotmani said the base belonged to the May 28 Brigade, a unit of former rebels attached to the defence ministry.The attackers shouted Allah, Moammar, Libya and thats it, he said, referring to a slogan popularised by Gaddafi loyalists during his rule.