Fear for civilians in Libya siege

4 September 2011 Last updated at 11:28 ET

Anti-Gaddafi fighters have surrounded Bani Walid

Libyan interim government forces who have surrounded the Gaddafi-held desert town of Bani Walid say they hope it can be captured peacefully.

One key anti-Gaddafi negotiator told the BBC that civilians in the town could not move and he feared pro-Gaddafi forces might shoot them in revenge or use them as human shields.

He said he hoped the standoff could be resolved by Monday morning.

It is unclear whether any Gaddafi family members are still in the town.

Bani Walid, 150km (95 miles) south-east of Tripoli, is one of four towns and cities – the others are Jufra, Sabha and Col Gaddafi’s birthplace in Sirte – that are still controlled by Gaddafi forces.

National Transitional Council (NTC) chairman Mustafa Abdel Jalil said the pro-Gaddafi bastions were being given humanitarian aid and time to surrender “to avoid further bloodshed”.

Family members

Anti-Gaddafi fighters have moved on Bani Walid from three sides.

The negotiator, Abdullah Kenchil, told the BBC’s Ian Pannell there were two colonels and other forces in Bani Walid that remained a threat.

He said negotiators were trying to persuade them to lay down their arms, not because of their military strength but because of the danger to civilians.

Mr Kenchil said: “We don’t want anything to happen to anyone in Bani Walid. We want to go in peacefully and people will be safe, because otherwise they could be taken as human shields or face revenge if they don’t support [the pro-Gaddafi forces].”

He added: “People cannot even move to the market. We are advising people not to enter or leave the town.”

Mr Kenchil said pro-Gaddafi military officers were seeking assurances – and had been given them – that they would receive fair treatment and trial for alleged abuses during the uprising if they laid down their weapons.

Another anti-Gaddafi commander, Abu-Sayf Ghaniyah, told al-Jazeera a deal had now been done with elders.

“Rebels are on the outskirts of the town; they will go into it very soon in a peaceful way,” he said.

There had been rumours that two Gaddafi sons had travelled through the town and that some family members may still be there.

Mr Kenchil said intelligence sources had told him Saif al-Islam had left Bani Walid only on Saturday, heading to an unknown destination further south, but there was no information of another son, Mutassim.

Analysts say it is important for the new national army to consolidate its control of all of the country to allow it to form a meaningful new government and to remove the threat from the old regime.

Bani Walid is a stronghold for the Warfalla tribe. In a defiant audio message on 1 September, Col Gaddafi referred to it as “an armed fortress”.

His whereabouts remain unconfirmed; his spokesman Moussa Ibrahim told Reuters in a telephone interview that the ousted leader was somewhere in Libya, safely surrounded by loyal supporters.

On Sunday there were fresh statements from the NTC that it knew Col Gaddafi’s whereabouts, but no location has been identified.

Tension

Meanwhile, the NTC is stepping up its efforts at reconstruction, setting up a supreme security council to protect Tripoli.

The Warfalla tribe is powerful in Bani Walid, and some have joined the anti-Gaddafi forces

But it has said its leadership will not now move from Benghazi to Tripoli until next week, with Mr Jalil the last to go.

This could mean a delay in the opposition formally assuming the role of the new government and raise fears of a power vacuum in the capital, correspondents say.

In a sign of tension over the new government of Libya, a key Islamist military commander who helped defend Benghazi has called on all of the NTC heads to resign.

Ismail al-Salabi told Reuters: “The role of the executive committee is no longer required because they are remnants of the old regime. They should all resign, starting from the head of the pyramid all the way down.”

Send r pictures and videos to rpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (International). If have a large file can upload here.

Read the terms and conditions

— ’re ’s , . : A ‘Malign Intellectual Subculture’ – George Monbiot Smears Chomsky, Herman, Peterson, Pilger And Media Lens.