NORTH OF BANI WALID, Libya, Sept 5 (Reuters) – Libyan forces
massed on Monday outside a pro-Gaddafi desert town that has
refused to surrender, building a field hospital in preparation
for a possible last stand.

On-off talks involving tribal elders from Bani Walid, south
of Tripoli, and a fog of contradictory messages in recent days
reflect the complexities of dismantling the remnants of
Gaddafi’s 42-year rule and building a new political system.

NORTH OF BANI WALID, Libya (Reuters) – Squatting in the shade of a crumbling hut on the outskirts of Bani Walid, a besieged town still loyal to Muammar Gaddafi, Hassan Warfalla said his tribe would not be persuaded easily to lay down their arms and surrender.

He has come to embrace the popular revolution that has brought down the curtain on 42 years of maverick one-man rule by Gaddafi. But many in his tribe that dominates Bani Walid have not done so, Warfalla cautioned.

NORTH OF BANI WALID, Libya, Sept 5 (Reuters) – Libyan forces
on Monday awaited orders to storm a desert town held by fighters
loyal to Muammar Gaddafi after negotiations failed to dislodge
them from one of the deposed leader’s remaining bastions.

Military units under Libya’s interim council are trying to
winkle pro-Gaddafi forces out of Bani Walid, 150 km (95 miles)
southeast of Tripoli, as well as the coastal city of Sirte and a
swathe of territory stretching far into the desert interior.

NORTH OF BANI WALID, Libya, Sept 5 (Reuters) – - Forces of
Libya’s interim ruling council are poised for an assault on the
desert town of Bani Walid after negotiators failed to persuade
Muammar Gaddafi loyalists to abandon one of their last remaining
bastions.

The town is one of just a handful of areas in Libya still
under the control of Gaddafi loyalists after a six-month
rebellion ousted the leader from Tripoli last month.

NEAR BANI WALID, Libya, Sept 4 (Reuters) – Talks to end a
standoff around the besieged Libyan town of Bani Walid broke
down on Sunday, said a negotiator for fighters hunting Muammar
Gaddafi.

“As chief negotiator, I have nothing to offer right now.
From my side, negotiations are finished,” Abdallah Kanshil told
reporters at the site of earlier talks with tribal elders from
the town, one of the last bastions of support for Gaddafi.

NEAR BANI WALID, Libya (Reuters) – Tribal elders from the besieged town of Bani Walid, a bastion of support for Muammar Gaddafi, came out negotiate Sunday with fighters for Libya’s interim government who have said they are ready to attack.

Earlier Sunday a National Transitional Council (NTC) negotiator told a Reuters correspondent at the scene that talks had broken down and that its forces were about to take the town.

NORTH OF BANI WALID/TRIPOLI, Libya, Sept 4 (Reuters) -
Libya’s interim council said it hoped to seize one of Muammar
Gaddafi’s last strongholds without resistance on Sunday as it
tries to control the entire country and restore normality.

Outside the pro-Gaddafi town of Bani Walid, a National
Transitional Council (NTC) negotiator said talks were over.

NORTH OF BANI WALID/TRIPOLI, Libya (Reuters) – Libya’s interim council said it hoped to seize one of Muammar Gaddafi’s last strongholds without resistance on Sunday as it pursues its drive to assert control over the whole country.

Outside the pro-Gaddafi town of Bani Walid, a National Transitional Council (NTC) negotiator said talks were over.

TRIPOLI/MISRATA, Libya (Reuters) – Libya’s interim government said it was closing in on bastions of support for Muammar Gaddafi Saturday, although there were mixed signals of how quickly their forces were moving.

Although the head of the NATO-backed National Transitional Council (NTC) reaffirmed a week-long grace period for making terms to avoid bloodshed, anti-Gaddafi fighters besieging two important towns said they were ready to attack.

TRIPOLI/MISRATA, Libya (Reuters) – Libya’s provisional government said it was closing in on bastions of support for Muammar Gaddafi on Saturday and planned to resume oil production at key fields within days.

Offering Libyans some hope of an end to conflict and a more prosperous future after 42 years of Gaddafi’s personal rule, Ali Tarhouni, the interim oil minister said, during a news conference in Tripoli that he had been told by commanders that the pro-Gaddafi bastion of Bani Walid may have changed sides.