Libya fighters forced to retreat

Muammar Gaddafi supporters put up fierce resistance against offensives trying to storm two strongholds today, forcing revolutionary fighters into retreat in the mountains and turning Gaddafi’s seaside home town into a battlefield of snipers firing from mosques and heavy weapons rattling main boulevards.

The tough defence displayed the firepower and resolve of the Gaddafi followers and suggested Libya’s new rulers may not easily push aside the remnants of the old regime.