NTC fighters ‘liberate’ Bani Walid

Libya’s National Transitional Council (NTC) forces have “liberated” the northwestern town of Bani Walid, which used to be one of Gaddafi’s remaining strongholds.

NTC commander, Colonel Abdullah Naker, said on Sunday that the council had raised its flag in the center of the town, Reuters reported.

Earlier in the day, the fighters had announced that they had seized control of about 60 percent of the town.

They had also arrested around 20 loyalists to the fugitive former dictator, Muammar Gaddafi.

Operations to rid Bani Walid of the remnants of the loyalists are expected to begin early Monday.

Meanwhile, the fighters continued their struggle against Gaddafi’s forces in the center of the northern city of Sirte, the former dictator’s hometown and now his only remaining stronghold.

The Doctors Without Borders humanitarian organization has reported that an estimated number of 10,000 people, many of them women and children, remain trapped in Sirte.

According to NTC Chairman Mustafa Abdel Jalil, about 25,000 people have been killed and 50,000 others injured since the beginning of the Libyan uprising in February.