Libya's NTC Claims Gadhafi Stronghold
September 22, 2011
VOA News
Fighters with Libya's National Transitional Council NTC are claiming control in the town of Sabha, one of the few remaining strongholds for loyalists to Moammar Gadhafi.
The NTC said Thursday that its forces have gained control of all districts of the southern town but still face pockets of resistance from snipers.
Provisional authority fighters said Wednesday that they had overcome Gadhafi loyalists in many parts of the town, 750 kilometers south of Tripoli.
However, NTC fighters are still facing stiff resistance from armed Gadhafi loyalists as they wrestle for control of Gadhafi's hometown of Sirte and the desert town of Bani Walid.
NATO says it is extending its operations in the country for another three months. Chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Wednesday the alliance is determined to continue its mission "for as long as necessary."
In another development, the U.S. has announced plans to reopen its embassy in Tripoli. U.S. Ambassador Gene Cretz has already returned to the capital where the U.S. plans to raise its flag over its mission on Thursday.
Cretz was based in Tripoli until December 2010. He left the country after WikiLeaks released his assessments of Gadhafi's personal life in which he described Libya's then-leader as "mercurial," "notoriously erratic" and a "hypochondriac.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
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