Fighting flares for 5th day in Libyan town

WADI DINAR, Libya (AP) ? Pro-government militias battled fighters in a former stronghold of the late Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi on Sunday, the fifth straight day of clashes that have killed at least 30 people.

The government-supported fighting in Bani Walid, some 140 kilometers (90 miles) southeast of Tripoli, has overlapped with the anniversary of the capture and killing of Gadhafi on Oct. 20, 2011. A year since his death brought an end to Libya's civil war, Bani Walid is the most significant city in the country to still resist the nation's new authorities.

A Bani Walid resident said Sunday by telephone that pro-government militias and fighters in the city were clashing on the outskirts. The resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, said there were reports of new casualties, but that the fighting was less intense than a day earlier.

In Tripoli, some two hundred protesters muscled their way into the parliament building, demanding the fighting in Bani Walid stop and saying only civilians are getting hurt. A pro-government militiaman near Bani Walid said there were no civilians in the conflict area, and said his forces helped evacuate hundreds of residents a day earlier.

The official LANA news agency said at least 22 pro-government militiamen were killed during clashes Saturday. Pro-government militiamen said most of the casualties came during an ambush by fighters in the besieged city.

The violence Saturday coincided with conflicting reports about whether security forces had arrested Gadhafi's former spokesman, Moussa Ibrahim, in Bani Walid.

The government said its forces had apprehended Ibrahim, but never produced evidence to support its statement. Then an audio recording purportedly by Ibrahim surfaced on the Internet denying that he had been arrested or that he was even in Libya.

The reports of Ibrahim's alleged arrested sparked brief celebrations in the Libyan capital. But in a reflection of the persistent lack of confidence in the new authorities, Libyans quickly began to demand that the government produce evidence ? photographs or video ? to back up their claims.

Violence has flared periodically over the last year in Bani Walid. This round of fighting began when the pro-government Libya Shield militia besieged the town, blaming residents for the death of a well-known anti-Gadhafi rebel. Negotiations to hand over the suspects in the killing had failed.

Pro-government fighters on the road outside of Bani Walid were transporting fleeing civilians and foreign workers from the fighting. Some of the fleeing workers said others were locked up in the city because of the heavy shelling.

In the Wadi Dinar area, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) outside of Bani Walid, one pro-government fighter said civilians in the city are making it harder for his troops to go after fighters loyal to Gadhafi.

"We are doing two jobs. We are rescuing foreign workers, Egyptians and Africans, and putting them on vehicles out of the fighting area, and we are combing the area for armed gunmen," he said speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters.

Another fighter, Nidal, from the Libya Shield, said the fighting over Bani Walid was focused on two fronts but that the fighters in Bani Walid are well armed. He was speaking as clashes continued at the Wadi Dinar gate into the city, saying his force and the Bani Walid fighters were exchanging fire from two hilltops.

"This is going to take more than one day. There is a distance between us," he said.

In Tripoli, about two hundred protesters, mostly from Bani Walid, stormed the parliament building demanding an end to the fight. Pro-government militia fired gunfire in the air to disperse the crowd, but stopped when the crowd refused to go.

"In Bani Walid no one supports Gadhafi," said Um Mohammed, a veiled woman who refused to give her name, using the mother of Mohammed as her identifier instead. "We support this government."

Um Mohammed said her children and husband were in Bani Walid.

"We need protection," she said, blaming fighters from a rival city for taking out revenge on Bani Walid.

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Associated Press writer Paul Schemm contributed to this report from Tripoli, Libya.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fighting-flares-5th-day-libyan-town-153234447.html

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