World
        

Politics

Libya's NTC vows to capture Gadhafi hometown soon

Updated: 2011-09-19 10:01

(Xinhua)

Twitter Facebook Myspace Yahoo! Linkedin Mixx

Libya's NTC vows to capture Gadhafi hometown soon
Anti-Gaddafi fighters with an injured comrade travel in a vehicle during heavy shelling by Gaddafi loyalists near Herawa, 52 km (32 miles) east of Sirte, Sept 18, 2011. [Photo/Agencies] 

TRIPOLI - Libya's National Transitional Council (NTC) said Sunday its forces will soon capture Sirte as it expects ground situation in the Muammar Gadhafi hometown to be settled within 3-4 days.

NTC fighters have seized southern Sirte plus coastal roads north of the town, and most of them now gathered at the city's airport and an air force base nearby, the council's military spokesman Colonel Ahmed Omar Bani told reporters.

Fighting continued in east and west of Sirte and on downtown streets, but ground situation there will be settled in about 3-4 days and remanent pro-Gadhafi forces will be wiped out, he said.

Bani also said they are revising plans to take Bani Walid, another remaining Gadhafi bastion southeast of Tripoli, so as to ensure the safety of the NTC fighters and the civilians there.

After a failed offensive, NTC fighters had to retreat and gather near the town's northern entry after they were pushed back by Gadhafi forces who installed snipers and long-range missiles, he said.

Despite suffering setbacks in its efforts to capture Sirte and Bani Walid in past a few days, the NTC said Saturday it would take control of the whole country very soon. Previously, a Gadhafi spokesman said Sirte would never fall.

E-paper

The snuff of dreams

Chinese collectors have discovered the value of beautiful bottles

Perils in relying on building boom
Fast forward to digital age
Bonds that tie China. UK

European Edition

Specials

Let them eat cake

Cambridge University graduate develops thriving business selling cupcakes

A case is laid to rest

In 1937, a young woman'S body was found in beijing. paul french went searching for her killer

Banking on change

Leading economist says china must transform its growth model soon

Sowing the seeds of doubt
Lifting the veil
Exclusive attraction