Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
Edition:
U.S.
Africa
Arabic
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Latin America
Mexico
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
Home
Business
Business Home
Economy
Technology
Media
Small Business
Green Business
Legal
Deals
Earnings
Summits
Business Video
Markets
Markets Home
U.S. Markets
European Markets
Asian Markets
Global Market Data
Indices
M&A
Stocks
Bonds
Currencies
Commodities
Futures
Funds
peHUB
World
World Home
U.S.
Brazil
China
Euro Zone
Japan
Mexico
Russia
Afghan Journal
Africa Journal
India Insight
Global News Journal
Pakistan: Now or Never?
World Video
Politics
Politics Home
Front Row Washington
Politics Video
Technology
Technology Home
MediaFile
Science
Tech Video
Opinion
Opinion Home
Chrystia Freeland
Felix Salmon
Breakingviews
George Chen
Bernd Debusmann
Gregg Easterbrook
James Pethokoukis
James Saft
John Wasik
Christopher Whalen
Ian Bremmer
Mohamed El-Erian
Lawrence Summers
The Great Debate
Unstructured Finance
Newsmaker
MuniLand
Money
Money Home
Analyst Research
Global Investing
MuniLand
Reuters Money
Alerts
Watchlist
Portfolio
Stock Screener
Fund Screener
Personal Finance Video
Life & Culture
Health
Sports
Arts
Faithworld
Business Traveler
Left Field
Entertainment
Oddly Enough
Lifestyle Video
Pictures
Pictures Home
Reuters Photographers
Full Focus
Video
Article
Comments (0)
Slideshow
Video
Full Focus
Photos of the week
Our top photos from the past week. Warning: Graphic content Full Article
Follow Reuters
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
YouTube
Read
Egyptian protesters pull down Israel embassy wall
09 Sep 2011
Libyan fighters tread lightly in Gaddafi towns
10 Sep 2011
Obama: U.S. stronger 10 years after September 11 attacks
|
1:39am EDT
Federer blames himself for loss, vows to come back better
10 Sep 2011
Suspicious item found at airport near Washington
10 Sep 2011
Discussed
199
Obama to propose $300 billion jobs package: report
99
Obama to call for urgent steps on economy
79
Nearly 40 percent of Europeans suffer mental illness
Watched
NASA launches robotic moon probes
Sat, Sep 10 2011
African Golden Cat makes video debut
Thu, Sep 8 2011
Massive supernova visible from Earth
Wed, Sep 7 2011
Gaddafi town hit as NTC chief warns still a threat
Tweet
Share this
Email
Print
Related News
NATO confirms air sorties over Gaddafi-held Bani Walid
Sat, Sep 10 2011
Libyan oil production to resume in days: minister
Sat, Sep 10 2011
Analysis & Opinion
My September 11th
9/11 in history: chapter or footnote?
Related Topics
World »
United Nations »
Libya »
Related Video
Tripoli welcomes interim chief
Sat, Sep 10 2011
NATO warplanes join Bani Walid fight
Noose tightens around Gaddafi strongholds
Fighting breaks out in Bani Walid, Libya
1 of 20. Anti-Gaddafi fighters wait for the arrival of National Transitional Council (NTC) head Mustafa Abdul Jalil at Mitiga airport in Tripoli September 10, 2011.
Credit: Reuters/Anis Mili
By Maria Golovnina
NORTH OF BANI WALID, Libya |
Sun Sep 11, 2011 1:46am EDT
NORTH OF BANI WALID, Libya (Reuters) - Libyan fighters launched an assault on one of the last bastions of ousted leader Muammar Gaddafi while the head of the provisional government arrived for the first time in the capital and warned that the fugitive former leader still posed a threat.
Fighters poured into the desert town of Bani Walid on Saturday after a deadline set by the National Transitional Council (NTC) for Gaddafi strongholds to surrender expired. Scores of men loyal to the fugitive leader put up resistance.
The provisional government, which is trying to establish its control over the entire country and restore normal life, announced that it could restart some production of the oil that underpins Libya's economy within three to four days.
Bani Walid, 150 km (95 miles) southeast of the capital, has emerged as one of the final holdout towns for Gaddafi supporters making a stand after NTC forces overran his Tripoli headquarters in late August.
Anti-Gaddafi fighters believe one or two of the ousted leader's sons may be holed up in the town. Some NTC officials have even suggested Gaddafi might be there.
NTC fighters have had the town under siege for days and said they would assault it on Saturday if it did not yield. Fighting broke out a day early on Friday both there and near Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte, one of the other few holdout cities.
NTC fighters said they had fought to within 500 m (yards) of the center of Bani Walid on Saturday, but pulled back suddenly. NATO aircraft struck at least seven times at Gaddafi loyalist positions around the town, witnesses said.
Black plumes of smoke rose from surrounding areas as powerful explosions echoed across a rocky valley in Bani Walid's northern outskirts. A rocket fired by Gaddafi loyalists landed in the hills, kicking up clouds of dust.
"Field commanders have told us to retreat because NATO will be bombing soon," fighter Abdul Mulla Mohamed said, driving away in one of dozens of vehicles leaving the town, which lies 150 km (95 miles) southeast of Tripoli.
"All our troops have retreated because of NATO. We are waiting for orders from our comrades to go back in again."
NATO confirmed its aircraft were flying missions over Bani Walid but would not comment on any airstrikes.
The main NTC positions on the northern approaches to Bani Walid came under fire, with sniper bullets and shells whistling over military pick-up trucks scattered around the narrow valley.
"We are not far from liberating Bani Walid," Daw Saleheen, a representative of the NTC's military council, said. "We urge Gaddafi fighters to lay down their weapons. You can go to any house and will be safe. It is not too late."
Two NTC commanders were killed and two wounded in the fighting. Doctors said two Gaddafi soldiers and one NTC fighter were killed on Friday. Abdullah Kanshil, an NTC official, said four or five civilians had died in overnight fighting.
Kanshil said about 1,000 Gaddafi supporters were defending the town -- far more than the 150 NTC officials previously had said were there.
OIL TO FLOW AGAIN
As battles raged for the last towns still outside its grip, the NTC pushed ahead to assert its legitimacy.
It called the arrival of its chairman, Mustafa Abdel Jalil, in Tripoli on Saturday "historic." Abdel Jalil, a former Gaddafi justice minister who had run the NTC from the eastern city Benghazi, was greeted by scores of flag-waving supporters.
"Brotherhood and warmth -- that's what we will depend on to build our future. We are not at a time of retribution," Abdel Jalil told reporters on his arrival.
"This is the time of unity and liberation."
The NTC has said it will complete its move to Tripoli from Benghazi by the end of next week -- though previous forecasts have been followed by delays.
Establishing a unified interim government in the capital would be an important achievement in a country where opponents of Gaddafi are divided along regional and factional lines.
The interim authorities also are anxious to show they can restart an economy almost entirely dependent on oil. Production essentially stopped since the start of the six-month civil war.
The interim oil and finance minister, Ali Tarhouni, told reporters some oil production would start again at some fields in just three to four days, and full pre-war output levels would be reached within a year.
Diplomats said Britain plans to submit a draft resolution to the U.N. Security Council early next week to start easing sanctions against Libya and establish a modest U.N. mission in the country.
The International Monetary Fund also chipped in on Saturday, recognising the NTC as Libya's legitimate governing body and saying it planned to send a team there when it is safe enough.
But Jalil said they must still capture Gaddafi's last strongholds before they can declare Libya "liberated" and set the clock ticking for elections and a new constitution.
"Gaddafi still has money and gold. These are the fundamental things that will allow him to find men," he said. "We must focus on our abilities to liberate Bani Walid, Sabha and Sirte."
The front lines around Sirte appeared to be quieter on Saturday after Friday's fighting. The NTC has also been sending hundreds of fighters south toward Sabha, the Gaddafi stronghold deep in the desert, in the last two days.
Gaddafi's own whereabouts remain a mystery. Hisham Buhagiar, the military coordinator of the NTC's hunt for him, said on Friday he had indications his quarry was in or near the town of Birak, some 700 km south of Tripoli. NATO forces had bombed the area late on Thursday, he said.
(Additional reporting by Sherine El Madany near Sirte, Emma Farge in Benghazi, William MacLean, Mohammed Abbas and Mohammad Ben-Hussein in Tripoli, Barry Malone and Sylvia Westall in Tunis, Abdoulaye Massalatchi in Agadez, Louis Charbonneau at the United Nations; Writing by Alistair Lyon and Barry Malone; Editing by Michael Roddy)
World
United Nations
Libya
Tweet this
Link this
Share this
Digg this
Email
Reprints
We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/
Comments (0)
Be the first to comment on reuters.com.
Add yours using the box above.
Social Stream (What's this?)
Edition:
U.S.
Africa
Arabic
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Latin America
Mexico
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
Back to top
Reuters.com
Business
Markets
World
Politics
Technology
Opinion
Money
Pictures
Videos
Site Index
Mobile
Legal
Bankruptcy Law
California Legal
New York Legal
Securities Law
Support & Contact
Contact Us
Advertise With Us
Connect with Reuters
Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn
RSS
Newsletters
About
Privacy Policy
Terms of Use
Our Flagship financial information platform incorporating Reuters Insider
An ultra-low latency infrastructure for electronic trading and data distribution
A connected approach to governance, risk and compliance
Our next generation legal research platform
Our global tax workstation
Thomsonreuters.com
About Thomson Reuters
Investor Relations
Careers
Contact Us
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.