Negotiations in Bani Walid fail, fighting imminent

A rebel fighter on the way to Bani Walid Tripoli - Emad Ajaj A member of Media Committee of the local Bani Walid city council, Mahmoud Boras, today announced that the rebels are preparing to liberate the city from its eastern and western fronts. Boras said in an exclusive statement to Arabstoday that the town had been quiet since rebels retreated under heavy sniper fire. Gaddafi snipers have a heavy presence throughout the town centre, in the market and on rooftops overlooking the main road. Boras said that rebels now completely control the Al-Khawazem, Al-Manasela and Al-Dawaer areas on the town’s Western front. Rebels were advancing through the Al-Hamala area, but have been slowed down by oil and flammable material that Gaddafi’s brigades had put on the road. Boras claimed that the rebel commander, Mohammed Bashir, had been wounded in Bani Walid, along with six other rebels. The Middle East News Agency has said that the rebels warned the people of Bani Walid over local radio to leave town before Friday ahead of the planned rebel assault on the city. Earlier, Abdullah Kinshel , the National Transitional Assembly’s chief negotiator, confirmed that he is preparing to take control of the city now that the deadline given to Gaddafi fighters to surrender has lapsed. Meanwhile, Libya's new rulers promised to investigate allegations of "serious abuses" including war crimes as their position was consolidated when the World Bank recognised them as the official government. The National Transitional Council was responding to a report released Tuesday by London-based human rights watchdog Amnesty International that accused the fighters who brought down the Gaddafi regime. The NTC acknowledged "a small number of incidents involving those opposed to Gaddafi" and vowed to investigate Amnesty's allegations. Amnesty said in the first days of the uprising groups of anti-Gaddafi protesters killed a number of captured soldiers and suspected mercenaries. "Some were beaten to death, at least three were hanged, and others were shot dead after they had been captured or had surrendered," Amnesty said. "The NTC is facing a difficult task of reining in opposition fighters and vigilante groups responsible for serious human rights abuses, including possible war crimes, but has shown unwillingness to hold them accountable," it said. But Amnesty acknowledged the alleged atrocities were of a "smaller scale" than those carried out by Gaddafi's regime, which it says may be responsible for crimes against humanity. In a statement issued in its eastern bastion of Benghazi, the council's executive committee said it "strongly condemns any abuses perpetrated by either side". "The NTC is firmly committed to human rights and the rule of law, both international and local," it said. In his first public speech since arriving in Tripoli on Saturday, Libya's interim leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil told thousands of supporters in Martyrs' Square that moderate Islam would be Libya's main source of legislation. "We will not accept any extremist ideology, on the right or the left. We are a Muslim people, for a moderate Islam, and we will stay on this road," he said Monday night. The World Bank said its decision was based on "evolving events in Libya and the views of member countries." It pledged a major rebuilding role after the seven-month insurrection that ousted the fugitive Gaddafi. The NTC meanwhile continued to seek the surrender of Gaddafi diehards who have been mounting attacks against its fighters from a few enclaves, including the oasis town of Bani Walid, southeast of Tripoli. Gaddafi, wanted for crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court, remains in hiding. Earlier, in a statement read out on Syria-based Arrai Oruba television, he vowed to defeat those behind the "coup" that had ousted him. "All that remains for us is the struggle until victory and the defeat of the coup," he said. NATO said it did not know if Gaddafi senior was still in Libya. "He has not made public appearances in the country for a while and this raises questions about his whereabouts," spokesman Colonel Roland Lavoie told reporters from the operation's headquarters in Naples, Italy. Thirty-two members of Gaddafi's inner circle, including his son Saadi, have fled to Niger. Saadi Gaddafi arrived in the Niger capital Niamey late Tuesday under the protection of the country's security forces, a Nigerien government source said. He flew in from the northern town of Agadez on a Hercules c-130 transport plane, local sources said. In Agadez, he had stayed at the governor's residence with eight other close associates of his father, they added. The International Energy Agency said Libya could recover a quarter of its oil production by the end of 2011, and two-thirds by end-2012. A return to full output of about 1.6 million barrels a day could take two to three years, it said. Canada said it has freed up $2.2 billion of Libyan assets frozen in its banks as it renewed ties with the North African country. The World Bank's recognition of the NTC came a day after China, which had long helped prop up Gaddafi before the uprising broke out, became the last permanent member of the UN Security Council to do so. But South African President Jacob Zuma said the African Union still did not recognise Libya's new leaders.