Libya's NTC assumes UN seat amid battle against holdouts

National Transitional Council (NTC) forces swept further into Gadhafi's hometown of Sirte as at least 6,000 fighters battled in and around one of the ousted despot's final strongholds.

An AFP correspondent reported two killed in fierce clashes at a roundabout in the town, one a medic, and at least four wounded.

“The situation at the roundabout is pitiful. There is no central command, we are retreating to regroup and re-enter again from three fronts,” said Al-Dhahira Brigade Commander Saleb Abu Shaala.

In the Bani Walid Gadhafi hold-out southeast of the capital, another AFP reporter quoted medical and NTC sources as saying six NTC fighters were killed on Friday and 20 wounded in the oasis town.

Commander Salem Jeha, a member of Misrata Military Council, told AFP by telephone of the fight for Sirte: “We are now concentrated in a handful of buildings in the city and on the outskirts including Wadi Abu Hadi where Gadhafi's forces are concentrated.”

He said NTC combatants seized Sirte airport late on Friday, and added that there was “no possibility for them (Gadhafi's forces) to continue their resistance.”

On the outskirts of Sirte, a medic with his face blown open was one of two dead brought in from the front lines.

“He was a civilian working in the ambulances,” Dr. Marwan al-Mubarak told AFP, adding that the second man was killed by a sniper bullet to the heart.

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