Hundreds of fighters storm Gadhafi's birthplace

The fall of Sirte could not come soon enough for Libya's new leaders, eager to declare liberation once the birthplace of Moammar Gadhafi is under their control.

But battles for the coastal city southeast of Tripoli have raged for weeks as Gadhafi loyalists dug in to put up stiff resistance. In the early hours of Friday, hundreds of revolutionary fighters attacked from the west, National Transitional Council military field commanders said. Gadhafi's men control tall buildings in the city center and often use the rooftops as strategic positions from which to attack their foes. They were striking with rocket propelled grenades and machine guns, said the council's commanders, Mohammed Ibrahim and Jamal al-Raeis, from the front lines.

A number of fighters on each side were killed and wounded, they said. Exact counts were not known. "The battle will be difficult but we have to finish it," Ibrahim said. The International Committee of the Red Cross was able to evacuate three wounded people from Ibn Sina hospital in Sirte to a field hospital on another side of the front line on Thursday. Dibeh Fakhr, an ICRC spokesman in Misrata, said Friday the group is committed to entering Sirte again to evacuate more wounded people.

The Red Cross said thousands of civilians remain inside Sirte and waves of war-weary civilians are streaming out of the coastal city every day. "We even saw entire families leaving on foot, bringing their small children with them, without any food or water," Red Cross delegate Ghafar Bishtawi said. More than 18,000 people, including many women, children and elderly people, are displaced east of Sirte and hundreds have moved to safer locations west of the city, the Red Cross said.

Sirte is one of two contested cities remaining in Libya as the National Transitional Council moves forward to form new governance in the country. The council's leader and the interim prime minister have promised to step down once Sirte is taken to clear the way for a new government. Gadhafi, wanted for alleged crimes against humanity, has not been publicly seen in months. Syrian-based television aired an audio message Thursday that was purportedly from the deposed leader. In it, the speaker urged Libyans to protest the new leadership.

Source: CNN