Libyan rebels advancing towards Sirte, the hometown of Moamer Kadhafi, were blocked Wednesday in the town of Bin Jawad as loyalists kept a stiff resistance, an insurgent commander said.
After taking Ras Lanuf, 150 kilometres (93 miles) west of Sirte, the rebels had advanced up to Bin Jawad, but were stuck there as they came under heavy artillery, rebel commander Fawzi Bukatif told AFP.
“Kadhafi’s forces are still fighting, we are surprised. We thought they would surrender with the fall of Tripoli,” Bukatif said in the nearby coastal town of Zuwaytina which also houses an oil exporting port.
“Maybe something or somebody is behind them,” he said, adding “maybe” when asked if he was referring to Kadhafi or his sons.