Tripoli: Muammar Gaddafi loyalists have seized control of a Libyan town and raised the ousted regime's green flag, an official and a commander said yesterday.
The retaking of Bani Walid comes as Libya's new leaders have struggled to unify the oil-rich North African nation three months after Gaddafi was captured and killed.
Hundreds of well-equipped and highly trained remnants of Gaddafi's forces raised the green flag over buildings in the western city late on Monday after hours of clashes, said Mubarak Al Fatamni, the head of Bani Walid local council.
No contact
Al Fatamni, who fled to the nearby city of Misrata following the attack, said four revolutionary fighters were killed and 25 others were wounded. He said the Libyan Defence Ministry has not sent any forces to the area.
A top commander of a revolutionary brigade in Bani Walid, Ali Al Fatamni, who was present in Benghazi during the attack, says he has lost contact with other fighters in the town.
The bold attacks, which have led authorities to declare states of emergency in several areas, are the latest breakdown in security, three months after Gaddafi's capture and killing.
Compensation sought
Protests have surged in recent weeks, with people demanding that the interim leaders deliver on promises of transparency and compensation for those injured in the fighting.
Bani Walid, 140 kilometres southeast of Tripoli, was one of the last Gaddafi strongholds to fall to revolutionary forces amid a months-long civil war. Gaddafi's son and longtime heir apparent, Saif Al Islam, was long believed to have been hiding in the town.
Saif Al Islam, who has been charged with crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court, was captured in November by fighters from the town of Zintan in Libya's western mountains, who continue to hold him.
The fresh violence comes as Libya's new leaders struggle to unify a deeply fractured country after eight months of civil war and more than 40 years of authoritarian rule.
The attacks were spread out and took place in Bani Walid, the capital Tripoli and the eastern city of Benghazi, the city where the uprising against Gaddafi started nearly a year ago.
Street battle
It is not clear if the attacks were coordinated. Violence broke out first in Bani Walid, where pro-Gaddafi fighters have long tormented Libya's revolutionaries.
Mahmoud Al Warfali, a spokesman for the revolutionary brigade in Bani Walid, said that at least four of his fighters were killed in the city.
He said up to 150 pro-Gaddafi fighters were engaged in the street battle, using rocket-propelled grenades and AK-47s.
He said they managed to raise the green Libyan flag of Gaddafi's regime at the northern gate of the town.
