Libya: NATO Supported Rebel Forces in Retreat

By Global Research
Global Research, October 15, 2011
Xinhua News Agency and Stop NATO 15 October 2011
Region:
Theme:

NTC forces, Gaddafi supporters clash in Libyan capital

-As the NTC saw with surprise the first fierce clashes in Tripoli in over 50 days with Gaddafi supporters after their capture of the Libyan capital, its fighters were also forced to retreat from Sirte, one of a couple of Gaddafi strongholds, the previous day due to strong resistance.

TRIPOLI: Forces of the ruling National Transitional Council (NTC) and some supporters of fallen leader Muammar Gaddafi exchanged gunfire in the Abu Salim neighborhood in southern Tripoli on Friday, the first in over 50 days, witnesses said.

Continuous gunshots were heard in the Libyan capital on Friday afternoon, after a number of pro-Gaddafi loyalists, who were armed, tried to raise a Gaddafi-era green national flag in the area, witnesses near Abu Salim told Xinhua.

Some 40 supporters of the previous regime then fired into the sky with machine guns and roamed in the streets, chanting pro-Gaddafi slogans.

Security checkpoints have been currently set up across Tripoli, and streets in the city’s downtown are heavily deployed with NTC fighters, who are searching for the diehards of the previous administration. Meanwhile, a witness told Xinhua that clashes were also seen in the al-Hadba area in southwestern Tripoli. There are no immediate details on casualties in the incident. Some areas in Tripoli have been currently cut off of water supply, but it has to be confirmed whether this is related to the incident.

…

A source close to the NTC said there were planned demonstrations by remnant Gaddafi supporters in Tripoli on Friday, a weekend day when almost all businesses in the city are closed. As the NTC saw with surprise the first fierce clashes in Tripoli in over 50 days with Gaddafi supporters after their capture of the Libyan capital, its fighters were also forced to retreat from Sirte, one of a couple of Gaddafi strongholds, the previous day due to strong resistance.

Stop NATO e-mail list home page with archives and search engine: http://groups. yahoo.com/ group/stopnato/ messages

Stop NATO website and articles: http://rickrozoff. wordpress. com

Articles by: Global Research

Disclaimer: The contents of this article are of sole responsibility of the author(s). The Centre for Research on Globalization will not be responsible for any inaccurate or incorrect statement in this article. The Centre of Research on Globalization grants permission to cross-post Global Research articles on community internet sites as long the source and copyright are acknowledged together with a hyperlink to the original Global Research article. For publication of Global Research articles in print or other forms including commercial internet sites, contact: [email protected]

www.globalresearch.ca contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available to our readers under the provisions of "fair use" in an effort to advance a better understanding of political, economic and social issues. The material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving it for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material for purposes other than "fair use" you must request permission from the copyright owner.

For media inquiries: [email protected]