Rebels lay siege to Qaddafi home town, Sirte

Telegraph:

Opposition fighters claim to have moved to within 20 miles of the coastal city on its western side and were yesterday also closing in from the east, where they have taken control of Bin Jawad, the last major town before Sirte.

With Tripoli in rebel hands, the city is the biggest remaining base of Gaddafi loyalist resistance.

But opposition commanders know they face a long, bloody battle, with many civilian casualties, if they opt for an all-out assault. Dr Hasan Droy, Sirte representative on the opposition National Transitional Council, said troops would stop short, laying siege to the city, while negotiations for its surrender continued.

"The city is already without electricity and cooking gas," he said. "Cars are not moving. Within a few days we will be able to enter peacefully."

Rebel leaders described a noose being tightened around Sirte.

Rebel forces to the east had been stalled at the oil town of Ras Lanuf last week as they came under heavy artillery fire, but yesterday managed to continue their advance, taking them about 80 miles from Sirte, where they were last night moving tanks and rocket launchers into position for an attack on Gaddafi troops stationed in Wadi al-Ahmar, or Red Valley.

They believe Mutassim-Billah Gaddafi, Col Gaddafi's fifth son, is in command of Sirte's defence, making its capture a difficult and bloody proposition.

Dr Droy said he believed senior regime figures were in the city, keeping up a barrage of pro-Gaddafi propaganda.

"They are very isolated. Gaddafi has cut off electricity so that they can't see what's happened on TV. When we talk to them about Tripoli they don't know what has happened but we have growing public opinion because of the conditions," he said.

Col Gaddafi's whereabouts remain unknown, but Sirte, a city of about 100,000 people and containing stockpiles of Scud missiles, is one possible location for a last stand.

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This is an interesting story about Mutassim and his last meeting with his Dutch glamour girl friend. She got trapped in Tripoli and wound up in a hospital. The guy has said he is eager to be a martyr and I am sure the rebels are eager to oblige him that wish.

A siege is probably a good strategy for Sirte since the rest of the country is already in their hands and there is no hope for Qaddafi retaking it.