NATO jets bomb Gaddafi’s hometown of Sirte

NATO bombing raids hammered the Libyan city of Sirte yesterday to clear the way for fighters with the Libyan interim government who are trying to capture Muammar Gaddafi’s hometown.

But Gaddafi loyalists showed they were still a threat by attacking the desert oasis town of Ghadames, on the border with Algeria. The interim government said the attacks had been repulsed but some reports said fighting was still going on.

Earlier at the weekend, the forces of the National Transitional Council (NTC) had pushed to within a few hundred metres of the centre of Sirte — one of the last bastions of pro-Gaddafi resistance in Libya — but later drew back to let the NATO jets do their work.

“Yesterday our freedom fighters attacked Sirte city from two sides. That doesn’t mean that Sirte is free now, but it is an indication that Sirte will be free soon,” said Ahmed Bani, NTC military spokesman in Tripoli.

Yesterday, the roar of jet engines could be heard overhead, and sporadic booms when NATO ordnance hit targets on the ground. One strike released a big cloud of smoke and dust.

“NATO has dropped a lot of bombs today,” said one rebel fighter. “You can see the planes up above. They struck along here,” he said, gesturing with his hand across the area south of the city centre.

NATO said it had struck targets in the vicinity of Sirte, including two command and control facilities, a storage bunker and 29 armed vehicles.