The fight for Sirte
- 13 years ago
Libyan fighters battled street by street for control of Muammar's Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte for the third day on Saturday, taking sniper, assault rifle and rocket fire from his loyalists perched on the city's rooftops.
Orange flashes of gunfire mixed with dust and black smoke over the sand-coloured buildings of the seaside city as scores of machine-gun and rocket launcher-mounted pick-ups trucks snaked through its streets.
Ruling National Transitional Council (NTC) fighters said it was unclear how many Gaddafi loyalists were in the city but several suggested that some of Sirte's civilian residents had started joining the fight on the ousted leader's side.
Dozens of pick-up trucks circled the town, fighters standing with rifles ready or drinking juice in the midday heat. NTC soldiers said they had been battling for the city on three fronts -- from the west, the south and the east entrances -- but had been advancing slowly.
Orange flashes of gunfire mixed with dust and black smoke over the sand-coloured buildings of the seaside city as scores of machine-gun and rocket launcher-mounted pick-ups trucks snaked through its streets.
Ruling National Transitional Council (NTC) fighters said it was unclear how many Gaddafi loyalists were in the city but several suggested that some of Sirte's civilian residents had started joining the fight on the ousted leader's side.
Dozens of pick-up trucks circled the town, fighters standing with rifles ready or drinking juice in the midday heat. NTC soldiers said they had been battling for the city on three fronts -- from the west, the south and the east entrances -- but had been advancing slowly.