Gunbattles In Tripoli Spark Insurgency Fears

http://news.sky.com/home/world-news/article/16089624
Gunbattles In Tripoli Spark Insurgency Fears
6:19pm UK, Saturday October 15, 2011 

There are fears of an insurgency against Libya's new rulers after clashes between pro and anti-Gaddafi supporters shook Tripoli, leaving at least three people dead. 
The fighting was the first sign of armed resistance to the National Transitional Council (NTC) there since the-then rebels seized the capital and ended Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's 42-year rule in August.

The violence appeared to be isolated and involved dozens of Gaddafi loyalists who exchanged heavy machinegun fire with hundreds of NTC fighters in pick-up trucks in the Abu Salim neighbourhood.

Earlier in the day, local residents said a group of up to 50 armed men had turned up in the district, which is traditionally supportive of the deposed dictator, and chanted pro-Gaddafi slogans.

Members of the NTC claimed clashes also broke out in three nearby areas.

One NTC fighter said: "Gaddafi told them in a message last night to rise up after Friday prayers. That's why these few people have come out and are causing this problem."

Two Gaddafi supporters and one NTC fighter were killed in the violence in the city while another 30 people were wounded, said the NTC.

The unrest in Tripoli coincided with prolonged battles in Sirte, where NTC forces are still tackling pro-Gaddafi fighters holed up in a small area of Col Gaddafi's home town.

Gaddafi's forces in Sirte are surrounded and have little hope of victory, but are still fighting on, inflicting casualties with rocket-propelled grenades, mortars and small arms.

The ousted dictator himself is believed to be hiding somewhere in the vast desert of southern Libya.

Since he went into hiding after rebel forces captured Tripoli on August 23, he has released a number of audio recordings calling on loyalists to fight back.

"Some Gaddafi cells came out on the streets with guns today after prayers but, as you can see, our forces have the situation under control," said a senior NTC official in Tripoli.

A spokesman for the NTC in the eastern city of Benghazi dismissed Gaddafi's armed supporters in the capital as a "fifth column" trying to destabilise the country.

"The other thing I hear that is disturbing is that the fifth column has been doing some drive-by shootings around Tripoli today. These are loyalists trying to wreak havoc," he added.