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Libya pro-Gaddafi town surrounded
4 September 2011 Last updated at 03:12 ET
Fighters have moved in on Bani Walid from three sidesHundreds of troops loyal to Libya’s interim government are closing in on one of ousted leader Muammar Gaddafi’s few remaining strongholds.
Fighters have moved in on Bani Walid from three sides, warning Gaddafi loyalists to surrender or be attacked.
The desert town hit the headlines last month as rumours spread that two of Col Gaddafi’s sons had travelled through it as they fled south from Tripoli.
Some reports say Gaddafi family members may still be in the town.
On Saturday, the head of Libya’s interim governing NTC said its soldiers were also laying siege to Col Gaddafi’s birthplace in Sirte, as well as Jufra and Sabha.
National Transitional Council Chairman Mustafa Abdel Jalil said the towns were being given humanitarian aid, but had one week to surrender “to avoid further bloodshed”.
Tripoli move delayed
One anti-Gaddafi commander, Abdulrazzak Naduri, had earlier said that Bani Walid had until just 08:00 on Sunday to surrender or face military action.
Col Gaddafi’s whereabouts remain unconfirmed.
Meanwhile, the NTC is stepping up its efforts at reconstruction, setting up a supreme security council to protect Tripoli.
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, says the BBC’s Kevin Connolly in Tripoli.
Ian Martin, a special adviser to the UN secretary general, arrived in Libya’s capital on Saturday to try to boost international efforts in the country’s redevelopment.
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