Libya conflict: anti-Gaddafi forces threaten Bani Walid

September 2011 Last updated at 11:55 GMT










Libya conflict: anti-Gaddafi forces threaten Bani Walid
An anti-Gaddafi fighter receives a flag with the colours of the interim government in Tarhouna, 70 km (40 miles) north of Bani Walid, 3 September 2011 Fighters have moved in on Bani Walid from three sides
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Libya Crisis

* Free to mourn
* Calculated clashes
* 'Mass killing' sites
* Where is Gaddafi?

Hundreds of troops loyal to Libya's interim government are closing in on one of ousted leader Muammar Gaddafi's few remaining strongholds.

Fighters have moved on Bani Walid from three sides, warning Gaddafi loyalists to surrender or be attacked.

The desert town hit the headlines last month as rumours spread that two of Col Gaddafi's sons had travelled through it as they fled south from Tripoli.

Some reports say Gaddafi family members may still be in the city.

On Saturday, the head of Libya's interim governing NTC said its soldiers were also laying siege to Col Gaddafi's birthplace in Sirte, as well as Jufra and Sabha.

National Transitional Council Chairman Mustafa Abdel Jalil said the pro-Gaddafi bastions were being given humanitarian aid, but had one week to surrender "to avoid further bloodshed".
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At the scene
image of Ian Pannell Ian Pannell BBC News, north of Bani Walid

Anti-Gaddafi forces are closing in on Bani Walid from Tripoli to the north, as well as the east and south in an attempt to seal off any potential escape routes from the town. There are many "technicals" - artillery guns mounted on the back of flat-bed jeeps - lining the roads.

It is unclear whether there is a deadline for Gaddafi loyalists inside the city to give themselves up or face attack, or whether local tribe elders are being given time to negotiate a peaceful resolution.

Some people remain convinced that Saif al-Islam and Mutassim Gaddafi - who are said to have passed through Bani Walid as they fled the invasion of Tripoli - remain inside Bani Walid.

But it is difficult to imagine why they would allow themselves to be trapped, as Gaddafi forces still control Sabha, to the south.
Tripoli move delayed

Bani Walid is 150km (95 miles) south-east of Tripoli and one commander told the BBC on Sunday that anti-Gaddafi forces were closing in on the city from the north, east and west.

"We are now on the border of Bani Walid, between Tarhouna and Bani Walid," Moftah Mohammed told the BBC. "We are coordinating with the rebels from Misrata. God willing, we are hoping to enter the town today or tomorrow."

Another fighter, Abdulrazzak Naduri, had earlier said that Bani Walid had until just 08:00 on Sunday to surrender or face military action.

Early reports suggested that Saif al-Islam and Mutassim Gaddafi had holed up in the desert city surrounded by armed supporters, and were ready to make a final stand there.

But the situation is less clear-cut than it first appeared, says the BBC's Kevin Connolly in Tripoli, with hard-core Gaddafi forces having fled Bani Walid while other loyalist elements were ready to negotiate.

It is likely there are moves afoot to set up talks to avoid a showdown, says our correspondent.

Either way, analysts say it is important for the new national army to consolidate its control of all of the country to allow it to form a meaningful new government and to remove the threat from the old regime. Taking Bani Walid is key to that.
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Finding the Gaddafis

* Muammar Gaddafi, sons Saif al-Islam, Saadi and Mutassim: Whereabouts unknown
* Sons Muhammad and Hannibal, daughter Aisha and wife Safia: Fled to Algeria
* Sons Saif al-Arab and Khamis: Reported killed

* Gaddafi family tree
* Libya spy papers 'show CIA links'
* Where could Gaddafi be hiding?

Col Gaddafi is reputed to have a lots of support there, though the city is mixed in its make-up. It is a stronghold for the Warfalla tribe. In a defiant audio message on 1 September, the fugitive leader referred to it as "an armed fortress".

The NTC may have made inroads in parts of Bani Walid - one rebel commander claimed recently that 80% of its residents had turned against Col Gaddafi - but the country's sprawling south could provide cover, as well as an escape route across the desert.

Col Gaddafi's whereabouts remain unconfirmed; his spokesman Moussa Ibrahim told Reuters in a telephone interview that the ousted leader was somewhere in Libya, safely surrounded by loyal supporters.

Meanwhile, the NTC is stepping up its efforts at reconstruction, setting up a supreme security council to protect Tripoli.

But it has said its leadership will not now move from Benghazi to Tripoli until next week, with Mr Jalil the last to go.

This could mean a delay in the opposition formally assuming the role of the new government and raise fears of a power vacuum in the capital, correspondents say.

Ian Martin, a special adviser to the UN secretary general, arrived in Libya's capital on Saturday to try to boost international efforts in the country's redevelopment.