28Sep11

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NATO Bombs Sirte; Resistance Persists in Some Fronts

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NATO warplanes strengthened on Wednesday air raids over Sirte backing the rebels´ land offensive, although those loyal to leader Muammar Gaddafi continue resisting in this city and two other southern strongholds. Reports coming from Sirte, Gaddafi´s hometown, noted that pro-Gaddafi forces controls the downtown of the city despite NATO´s four-day-in-a-row air raids.

Rebels have captured many territories but are still facing a strong pro-Gaddafi resistance, according to numerous contradictory press reports that differ from the deliberately conflicting and triumphalist statements of the National Transitional Council though.

A NTC military source claimed that the rebels fully controlled the harbor in Sirte and some downtown areas as part of a strategy to advance from the eastern periphery and join the brigades deployed in the western flank.

Despite the fact that the NTC claimed that Bani Walid succumbed to its attacks, the rebels only control some outlying neighborhoods, but pro-Gaddafi artillery response prevents them from approaching the city´s downtown, where locals support Gaddafi.

Sabha, which was also declared as "liberated" a week ago, is still not fully controlled by the rebels, who are not backed by the people, even though they set up a NTC headquarter in the Al-Gurtha neighborhood and checkpoints in the roads that lead to the city´s downtown.

[Fuente: Radio Cadena Agramonte, PL, Camaguey, Cub, 28Sep11]

Libya War

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