Libya Fighting Rages As Revolutionary Forces Launch 'Final Assault' On Gaddafi Home Town Sirte

Libya Fighting Rages As Revolutionary Forces Launch 'Final Assault' On Gaddafi Home Town Sirte
Fighting has intensifed in the Libyan town of Sirte as anti-Gaddafi fighters launch what they say is a final offensive to crush resistance.

:: WARNING: The above video report contains pictures of a man receiving CPR who later dies and other seriously injured fighters

The forces of the country's interim government claim to be in control of much of Gaddafi's home town, one of the former leader's last remaining strongholds.

In the largest new assault on the city for weeks, the two sides battered each other with rockets, mortar shells and tank fire, as Gaddafi snipers fired down on fighters advancing through housing complexes.

Smoke drifted over the skyline and explosions thundered throughout the city as long lines of residents fleeing by car formed at government forces' checkpoints. We are receiving many gunshot wounds, mostly to the head, neck and chest from sniper fire. We have received many injured today.

Dr Ahmed Mohammed Tantoun at revolutionary forces field hospital

On Friday, fighters entering through the western gate quickly advanced to within just a mile of the town centre but faced heavy resistance from a loyalist force of roughly 800 men, according to one commander's estimate.

"We started the attack at 6am and the first group hit the outskirts of Sirte. We were fired on by Gaddafi snipers. We had many soldiers wounded," said commander Altaib Aleroebi of the ex-rebels' West Mountain Brigade, which led the attack on the western front.

At least 12 anti-Gaddafi fighters were killed and 195 wounded, doctors said.

Alex Rossi in Sirte

Alex Rossi in Sirte at revolutionary forces field hospital outside centre of town

Ambulances have been ferrying the injured down Sirte's main avenue to a field hospital set up in an abandoned villa five miles from the centre.

Doctors said a senior commander, Ali Saeh of the Free Libya Brigade, was injured, shot twice by a sniper as he led fighters through loyalist forces in a residential area.

"We are receiving many gunshot wounds, mostly to the head, neck and chest from sniper fire. We have received many injured today," Dr Ahmed Mohammed Tantoun said on Friday.

Injured fighter for Libya's interim goverment is brought to a field hospital for treatment

An injured fighter for the interim government is brought to field hospital for treatment

Sirte, Gaddafi's home town, is considered the most crucial of the areas that remain in the hands of supporters of the former Libyan leader, more than a month after revolutionaries swept into Tripoli and ousted him from power.

Leaders of the interim government have said that once Sirte falls they can start a timetable for elections.

Sirte is key to the physical unity of the country, since it lies roughly in the centre of the coastal plain where the majority of Libya's 6.5 million people live, blocking the easiest routes between east and west.

However, Gaddafi loyalists still control another major city, Bani Walid, in the central mountains, and Sabha deep in the deserts of the south.