| Al Qathafi Diehards in Sirte Keep Declaration of Normalcy in Abeyance 19/10/2011 10:59:00 | ||
| When the desert oasis of Bani Walid, was liberated on Monday, the red, black and green flag of the new Libya was raised leaving Sirte as the only remaining bastion loyal to the former Libyan leader, Muammar Al Qathafi who after the fall of Tripoli two months ago went into hiding.Sirte, the fugitive leader’s hometown is the remaining city where Al Qathafi’s diehards still resist despite having been cornered into a small section of the city. A fierce attack that began almost a week ago has failed to dislodge them completely from the small area they currently occupy that has even been minimised with the capture of the so-called Dollar neighbourhood.Essam Baghhar, field commander for the Zintan Brigade, confirmed with AFP that one of two neighbourhoods in the Mediterranean city that had still been under the control of the Al Qathafi loyalists fell to the National Transitional Council, NTC, fighters fell late on Tuesday.Baghhar said: “The Dollar neighbourhood was liberated last night (Tuesday) and now the fight is in Number Two neighbourhood.”He added that loyalist forces had been pushed into an area of “Number Two” neighbourhood less than one square kilometre in size.He said that the NTC forces captured many snipers in the past two days, including, surprisingly, two women snipers.The fierce battles of the past few days have left heavy casualties on both sides, with medics saying that on Tuesday alone, at least 11 NTC fighters were killed and 95 wounded in the battle to subdue the last pockets of resistance in Sirte.Reports indicate that among those killed was Mustafa bin Dardef, a popular field commander with the Zintan Brigade, who was hit by a mortar round. The father of one son and four daughters was a businessman in Benghazi before he joined the uprising.NTC commanders say that Sirte is on the verge of falling, but there are still pockets of resistance with those defending them seemingly prepared to sacrifice their lives rather than surrender. They must know that they are fighting a lost cause but if they are going down, they intend to take others down with them to the grave.Their stubbornness has kept the NTC from making more progress towards governance and the return to normalcy. Sirte is seen as strategic to the NTC that has said it will not declare Libya fully freed of Al Qathaf’is 42-year autocratic rule until his hometown falls. | ||
Al Qathafi Diehards in Sirte Keep Declaration of Normalcy in Abeyance
Abdullah Al Asadi is a Libyan journalist and writer at TripoliPost, covering politics, society, and culture across Libya and the wider region. With a passion for independent storytelling and a commitment to accuracy, he brings readers in-depth reporting and thoughtful analysis on the issues shaping his country. He can be reached at abdullah.asadi@tripolipost.com
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