WRAPUP 5-Gaddafi gunmen, govt forces clash in Libyan capital
* Two on pro-Gaddafi side, one NTC fighter killed in
shootout* Pocket of pro-Gaddafi resistance holding out in Sirte
(Adds Tripoli death toll, NTC official’s quotes)By Barry MaloneTRIPOLI, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Gunbattles between supporters of
deposed leader Muammar Gaddafi and forces of the National
Transitional Council (NTC) shook the Libyan capital on Friday,
raising fears of an insurgency against the country’s new rulers.The clashes appeared to be isolated and involve only dozens
of pro-Gaddafi fighters, but it was the first sign of armed
resistance to the NTC in Tripoli since its rebel brigades seized
the city and ended Gaddafi’s 42-year rule in August.Hundreds of NTC fighters in pick-up trucks shouting “Allahu
Akbar” (God is greatest) careered towards the Abu Salim
neighbourhood, a repository of support for Gaddafi, and the two
sides exchanged automatic and heavy machinegun fire.The fighting in Tripoli coincided with prolonged battles in
Sirte, where NTC forces are battling pro-Gaddafi fighters holed
up in a small area of Gaddafi’s home town.Local people in Tripoli told Reuters that a group of up to
50 armed men had appeared in the Abu Salim district earlier in
the day and chanted pro-Gaddafi slogans. NTC men said fighting
also broke out in three nearby neighbourhoods.”Gaddafi told them in a message last night to rise up after
Friday prayers,” said one NTC fighter, Abdullah. “That’s why
these few people have come out and are causing this problem.”Since he went into hiding after rebel forces captured
Tripoli on August 23, Gaddafi has released a number of audio
recordings calling on loyalists to fight back.Two Gaddafi supporters and one NTC fighter were killed in
Friday’s violence in Tripoli, NTC official Abdel Razak al Oraidi
said during a press conference in the capital.”Orders were issued to raise the state of alert to the
maximum,” Oraidi said. “Gaddafi supporters should give up their
weapons. Those who do not do so will be considered terrorists.”NTC fighters dragged one man out of an apartment block in
Abu Salim, a traditional bastion of support for Gaddafi. As he
was kicked and punched, one NTC man tried twice to stab the
prisoner only to be blocked each time by another NTC man.The captured man had been armed with a rocket-propelled
grenade, said NTC fighters. The interim government’s forces have
been criticised by human rights groups for their treatment of
prisoners. Reuters saw at least two other captured gunmen taken
away in pickup trucks being punched and kicked.Dominated by apartment blocks, Abu Salim was the last part
of the capital to fall to the NTC when its forces took Tripoli
on Aug. 23 after six months of civil war.The NTC fighters were met by volleys of machinegun fire as
they went from house to house searching for remaining
pro-Gaddafi gunmen. Shooting died down later in the afternoon.”Some Gaddafi cells came out on the streets with guns today
after prayers but, as you can see, our forces have the situation
under control,” said a senior NTC official at the scene under
heavy protection, Mahmoud Abdul Aziz.”All families are safe. If Gaddafi is still at large we
won’t see peace but we will slay that beast.”A spokesman for the NTC in the eastern city of Benghazi
dismissed Gaddafi’s armed supporters in Tripoli as a “fifth
column” trying to destabilise the country.”The other thing I hear that is disturbing is that the fifth
column has been doing some drive-by shootings around Tripoli
today. These are loyalists trying to wreak havoc,” he said.Diplomats told Reuters that there were also drive-by
shootings near the Radisson hotel, where some senior NTC
officials and Western diplomats are staying.SIRTE STILL HOLDING OUTGaddafi supporters are still holding out in Sirte, Gaddafi’s
Mediterranean coastal hometown in the centre of the country,
where a small pocket is battling on after weeks of fighting, and
Bani Walid, a town south of Tripoli.Government forces pushed tanks deep into Sirte on Friday to
try to smash resistance by pro-Gaddafi fighters.The mostly untrained NTC militia army has gradually
tightened its stranglehold around Sirte in a chaotic struggle
that has cost scores of lives and left thousands homeless.The failure to seize the final Gaddafi bastions has also
held up the attempt by Libya’s new leaders to try to build a
democratic government, a process they say will begin only after
Sirte is captured.NTC commanders say Gaddafi’s diehard loyalists now only
control an area measuring about 700 metres (yards) north to
south, and around 1.5 km (a mile) east to west in a residential
neighbourhood comprising mostly apartment blocks.”We are going to engage them with tanks and heavy artillery
first. After that we will send in the pick-up trucks with
anti-aircraft guns, then the infantry,” said NTC commander Abdul
Hadi Doghman.The biggest obstacle to taking the town has been Gaddafi’s
snipers hunkered down in buildings.Green flags, the banner of Gaddafi’s rule, still fly above
many of the buildings in Sirte. An occasional sniper shot zipped
past government forces cleaning their weapons.Gaddafi’s encircled forces in Sirte have little hope of
victory, but still fight on, inflicting casualties with
rocket-propelled grenades, mortars and small arms.Gaddafi himself is believed to be hiding somewhere in the
vast desert of southern Libya.FEAR OF REPRISALSOne NTC commander said Gaddafi’s forces were no longer using
heavier weapons and appeared to have lost their cohesion.”We’ve noticed now they are fighting every man for himself,”
said Baloun al-Sharie, a field commander. “We tried to tell them
it’s enough and to give themselves up, but they would not.”NTC officers say Gaddafi loyalists fear reprisals if they
surrender — some captured fighters have been abused.A Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) doctor at Sirte’s Ibn Sina
hospital estimated there are still some 10,000 people marooned
by the fighting in the city of 75,000 residents. Many of those
trapped are women or children and some need medical care.”In the past few days, the patients haven’t been able to
receive proper medical care, due to a shortage of doctors and
due to the lack of water,” said Gabriele Rossi. “The wounds of
some patients are really bad and very infected.”Amnesty International issued a report on Wednesday saying
Libya’s new rulers were in danger of repeating human rights
abuses commonplace under Gaddafi. The NTC said it would look
into the report.
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