SIRTE, Libya, Oct 14 (Reuters) – Libyan government forces
brought more tanks into the city of Sirte on Friday to try to
break the last pocket of resistance by loyalists of ousted
leader Muammar Gaddafi in his home town.

The mostly untrained militia army of the National
Transitional Council (NTC) has been gradually tightening its
strangle-hold around Sirte for weeks in a chaotic struggle that
has cost scores of lives and left thousands homeless.

SIRTE, Libya (Reuters) – Fighters loyal to Muammar Gaddafi fought a last-ditch battle in an ever shrinking pocket of resistance in the ousted leader’s hometown Sirte on Thursday.

National Transitional Council (NTC) commanders moved up tanks to fire at buildings from close range to try to dislodge the remaining Gaddafi snipers who are now surrounded on all sides in one small part of the city.

SIRTE, Libya (Reuters) – When Libyan government fighters seized the vacant home of Muammar Gaddafi’s daughter, Aisha, the wealth and opulence they found sent some of them into a rage.

One fighter walked through the door and sprayed the interior with bullets from his Kalashnikov rifle. “She’s a bitch,” he said. “She has a nice house. They are rich. They do not care about us.”

SIRTE, Libya, Oct 13 (Reuters) – Libyan government fighters
have captured Muammar Gaddafi’s son Mo’tassim as he tried to
escape the battle-torn city of Sirte, National Transitional
Council (NTC) officials said.

The capture of the deposed leader’s national security
adviser, and the first member of the Gaddafi family, is a boost
to Libya’s new rulers, whose forces are still battling
pro-Gaddafi fighters in his home town of Sirte.

TRIPOLI/SIRTE, Libya, Oct 12 (Reuters) – Libyan government
fighters captured Muammar Gaddafi’s son Mo’tassim in Sirte on
Wednesday after he tried to escape the battle-torn city in a car
with a family, officials with the National Transitional Council
(NTC) told Reuters.

The capture of the deposed leader’s national security
adviser, and the first member of the Gaddafi family, is a big
boost to Libya’s new rulers whose forces are still battling
pro-Gaddafi fighters in his home town of Sirte.

SIRTE, Libya, Oct 12 (Reuters) – - Fighters loyal to deposed
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi are now holding out in just two
small pockets of his home town Sirte on Wednesday, government
commanders said after making gains overnight.

Gaddafi loyalists have fought tenaciously for weeks in
Sirte, one of just two major towns they still control nearly two
months since rebels seized the capital Tripoli.

SIRTE, Libya (Reuters) – Resistance from fighters loyal to ousted Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi crumbled in his home town overnight, government commanders said on Wednesday, and just two small pockets still held out.

Fighters from the interim Libyan government’s volunteer army walked slowly up the same battle-scarred streets strewn with empty ammunition cases where they had fought fierce clashes a day before. Other fighters searched the partly destroyed houses as a few dazed civilians emerged from their basements.

MISRATA, Libya (Reuters) – Actress and UN Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie on Wednesday praised Libyans’ “extraordinary” participation in their homegrown revolution, and said she stood in solidarity with the country as it sought to become a nation of laws.

Jolie arrived in Libya on Tuesday and toured destruction in Misrata, the city captured by rebels over several weeks of heavy fighting as they pushed to depose Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi earlier this year.

MISRATA, Libya (Reuters) – Actress and UN Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie on Wednesday praised Libyans’ “extraordinary” participation in their homegrown revolution, and said she stood in solidarity with the country as it sought to become a nation of laws.

Jolie arrived in Libya on Tuesday and toured destruction in Misrata, the city captured by rebels over several weeks of heavy fighting as they pushed to depose Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi earlier this year.

SIRTE, Libya, Oct 11 (Reuters) – Libya’s interim chief paid
a symbolic visit to Muammar Gaddafi’s battle-torn hometown of
Sirte on Tuesday, saying his forces needed two more days to
capture the last major stronghold of the deposed leader.

Taking Sirte would bring Libya’s National Transitional
Council (NTC) a big step closer to establishing control over the
vast North African nation almost two months after they seized
the capital Tripoli.