Supporters of dead Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi on Monday took over portions of the central city of Bani Walid, prompting clashes between them and government forces that left four dead, according to local officials.
“The loyalists of Gadhafi took control of the entire city of Bani Walid,” said M'barek al-Fotmani, a former member of the ruling National Transitional Council, according to quotes appearing on the Al-Arabiya television.
“The attackers are carrying green flags,” he told AFP, referring to the former symbol of the Gadhafi regime. He said they have encircled a base that was used by the NTC and are armed with heavy weapons.
A spokesperson from a local Bani Walid council, Mahmud Warfelli, told AFP that “there are at least four martyrs from the thuwar (anti-Gadhafi revolutionaries), and 20 are injured.”
The assault on Bani Walid, a city located around 110 miles southwest of the capital city of Tripoli, is the first major violence in Libya since October, when the months-long conflict ended. Pro-Gadhafi fighters were holed up in Bani Walid and NTC fighters attempted to break down the town’s defenses for months.
Warfelli said Monday’s assault was carried out by “a group of remnants of the old regime” and said outside help is needed, according to AFP.
“There are around 100 and 150 men armed with heavy weapons who are attacking. We have asked for the army to intervene, but the defense ministry and NTC have let us down,” he said.
The clashes were started, a local resident told Al-Arabiya, after NTC militiamen arrested Gadhafi loyalists.
