Libyan fighters are continuing their push to capture Sirte
Tripoli – Emad Agag with agencies
Mustafa Abdel Jalil, NTC leader, stressed the importance of quickly beginning a transfer of power. Jalil thanked NATO for their support to rebels during the revolution. This came during a conference
held in Tripoli on Saturday between the NTC leader and both British and Italian Defence Ministers William Fox and Ignazio La Russa. Fox said during the meeting that the UK is impressed by what Libyans have achieved this last period, adding that NATO will continue its support and mission to free Libya in the coming few days so that Gaddafi does not pose a threat on Libyan people. Fox added that he looks for the establishment of a government which represents all Arabs in Libya. On his part, La Russa expressed his delight at visiting Libya.
Meanwhile, a Tunisian source revealed that a Libyan General in the former Gaddafi Intelligence was arrested on Friday evening in Douz, west of Tunisia, not too far from the Tunisian-Algerian border. The General entered the country illegally and rented a house in an isolated area, and acted in a suspicious way as he only left the house at night only to return to it in the early hours of the morning. Following several days surveillance by the Tunisian authorities, his house was raided and searched, but no weapons were found. Moreover, the authorities found out that the General was using a fake ID and entered Tunisia over a month ago.
Libyan fighters are continuing their push to capture Sirte, the home city of toppled leader Muammar Gaddafi.Libyan revolutionary forces claimed to have captured parts of a sprawling convention centre that loyalists of Moammar Gadhafi have used as their main base in the ousted leader's hometown and were shelling the city to try to rout snipers from rooftops in their offensive aimed at crushing this key bastion of the old regime, the AP reported.
National Transitional Council (NTC) forces managed to take control of a central neighbourhood as well as a main road on Saturday, but faced stiff resistance from Gaddafi loyalists.
Fighting was raging for the Ouagadougou conference centre, which is believed to house the command centre of Gaddafi's forces, Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr reported from the outskirts of the city.
"Loyalists are not only using small arms fire and snipers to slow the advance, they're also firing mortars to prevent anti-Gaddafi forces from taking control of this strategic complex," she said.
But NTC fighters made progress elsewhere, capturing the nearby Sabamiyah neighbourhood.
"Most of the people living here were commanders and officers in Gaddafi's army," Khodr said.
In other news, Jordan's King Abdullah II on Saturday reiterated Jordan's support for Libya's National Transitional Council (NTC) in building a new Libya and preserving the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity, state-run Petra News Agency reported.
During talks with Mahmoud Jibril, head of Libya's ruling National Transitional Council (NTC) executive board, the Jordanian king pledged to continue humanitarian and medical aid to help Libya to move into a new era of security and stability.
The two sides also agreed to send a fully-equipped Jordanian field hospital to Libya and to start founding a joint higher Jordanian-Libyan committee to promote ties in various sectors, including security, health and education.
Also on Saturday, Jordan's Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh discussed with Jibril Jordanian-Libyan ties and the conflict in the North African country.
"We ... are fully ready for cooperation with the Libyan brothers, and will put all our potentials at their disposal to protect Libya and ensure its return to assume its Arab and regional role," said Judeh, who will visit the Libyan capital of Tripoli in a few days to underline Jordan's continuing support and cement a strategic relationship as Libya seeks closer ties with the Arab world.
Jibril hightlighted Jordan's support and welcomed Jordan to offer expertise to Libya in such areas as rehabilitation and education.
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All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©
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