NORTH OF BANI WALID/EAST OF SIRTE, Libya (Reuters) – Libyan fighters launched assaults on the final bastions of Muammar Gaddafi loyalists on Friday, with battles reported inside the holdout town of Bani Walid and near the ousted ruler’s home town of Sirte.
The battles erupted a day before a deadline set by Libya’s interim National Transitional Council (NTC) for pro-Gaddafi outposts to surrender or face onslaughts.
NTC officials said the outbreaks of fighting meant the ceasefire had effectively been scrapped. That could pave the way for some of the final battles of a six-month civil war.
As the conflict entered its final stages, diplomats said Britain plans to submit a draft resolution to the U.N. Security Council early next week to start easing sanctions against Libya and establish a modest U.N. mission in the country.
Fighters besieging Bani Walid went in a day ahead of the deadline to protect civilians and were locked in street-to-street fighting with Gaddafi forces, an NTC official near the town said.
Battles also began outside Sirte in response to barrages of rockets fired by pro-Gaddafi forces.
The two towns, along with the remote desert outpost of Sabha, are the main areas still in control of Gaddafi loyalists since NTC fighters overran
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