Success of Gaddafi loyalists

Gaddafi loyalists take back Bani Walid

Reports say at least four people killed in clashes between besieged NTC forces and well-organised pro-Gaddafi fighters

The Guardian,

23 January, 2012

Abdul Hafez Ghoga has resigned as the NTC’s deputy leader after being manhandled at a protest in Benghazi. Photograph: Sabri Elmhedwi/EPA

Fighters loyal to Muammar Gaddafi have seized back the town of Bani Walid and raised the late dictator's green flag, in a blow to Libya's struggling provisional government.

Reports said at least four people were killed during clashes between besieged forces loyal to the ruling National Transitional Council (NTC) and armed and well-organised supporters of Gaddafi. "They control the town now. They are roaming the town," one militia member was quoted as saying of the pro-Gaddafi fighters, according to Reuters.

Bani Walid, a former regime stronghold 110 miles south-east of Tripoli, was one of the last to succumb to pro-government forces after the capital fell in August. The latest clashes mark the most significant loyalist attack since Libya was officially "liberated" on 23 October. It appears further evidence of the NTC's weakness, incapacity and internal divisions ahead of supposed national elections later this year.

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