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NTC fighters take Gaddafi birthplace

Libyan medics say National Transitional Council (NTC) fighters have taken control of fugitive ruler Muammar Gaddafi’s birthplace in Sirte.

“The village of Qasr Abu Hadi is completely free from Gaddafi loyalists,” Dr. Taha Sultan told AFP on Monday at a field hospital on the eastern outskirts of Sirte, located 400 kilometers (250 miles) east of the capital Tripoli.

“Our medical team came through the village and they tell us it is free,” he added.

Meanwhile, Libya’s transitional leaders named a new Cabinet on Monday and said they would step down after the North African country gets back on its feet and is fully secure.

Interim Libyan Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril will remain in his position but also take over as Libya’s new foreign minister, and Ali al-Tarhouni, will continue acting as minister of petroleum.

Abdel-Rahman al-Keissah has named as the minister for the newly established ministry of Libyans killed and wounded. Hamza Abu Fas will also replace Sheik Salem al-Sheiki as the minister of religious affairs.

Meanwhile, NTC Chairman Mustafa Abdel Jalil said on Monday that liberation would be declared after Gaddafi’s hometown is captured because that would ensure the borders are secure.

He also promised to name a new transitional government within a month after liberation is declared.

Abdel Jalil said that Bani Walid, located 170 kilometers (105 miles) southeast of Tripoli, is landlocked and doesn’t pose a threat to Libya’s borders.

Libya has been the scene of intense fighting between government troops and opposition fighters since the revolution seeking to topple Gaddafi began in mid-February.

Libya’s revolutionary forces advanced into the heart of Tripoli on August 21, seizing control of much of the capital without facing significant resistance from regime forces.

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