Street fighting in Sirte
- 13 years ago
Street fighting in downtown Sirte
For a third day in a row opposition fighters and pro-Gaddafi forces clash around the al-Dollar residential district in Sirte.
National Transitional Council fighters unleash a barrage of fire power.
They say pro-Gaddafi fighters of using women and children who live in the area as human shields.
SOUNDBITE: ) Field Commander, Mustafa Abu Zied, saying: (Arabic):
"We are taking control of the second residential district, they are using children and families as human shields, but we are trying to save those families from their hands. Therefore, we fired artillery so the enemy knew that we were coming to take control of this district. I hope that families and children know that we are coming. We have given the command to strike this location and we will enter this district later on."
Convoys of tanks and other military vehicles could be seen driving in to Sirte, the hometown of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
The city has been under siege for weeks.
The often chaotic struggle has cost scores of lives and left thousands homeless, and the fight is still not over.
Deborah Lutterbeck, Reuters
For a third day in a row opposition fighters and pro-Gaddafi forces clash around the al-Dollar residential district in Sirte.
National Transitional Council fighters unleash a barrage of fire power.
They say pro-Gaddafi fighters of using women and children who live in the area as human shields.
SOUNDBITE: ) Field Commander, Mustafa Abu Zied, saying: (Arabic):
"We are taking control of the second residential district, they are using children and families as human shields, but we are trying to save those families from their hands. Therefore, we fired artillery so the enemy knew that we were coming to take control of this district. I hope that families and children know that we are coming. We have given the command to strike this location and we will enter this district later on."
Convoys of tanks and other military vehicles could be seen driving in to Sirte, the hometown of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
The city has been under siege for weeks.
The often chaotic struggle has cost scores of lives and left thousands homeless, and the fight is still not over.
Deborah Lutterbeck, Reuters