Libya’s interim rulers on September 22 said they had further consolidated their control over Sahara desert towns that had been among Muammar Qaddafi’s last strongholds, and said Qaddafi himself was running out of places to hide. Libya’s National Transitional Council (NTC), the country’s de facto government after Qaddafi was swept from the capital last month, is anxious to show that it is establishing military control over the country and can govern Libya effectively. Progress has been slow in seizing the towns of Sirte and BaniWalid, with military ineptitude hampering the advance. The council says its forces have now also taken control of Jufra, to the north-east of Sabha, and the nearby oasis towns of Sokna, Waddan, and Houn. The NTC official said the manhunt for Qaddafi, in hiding for weeks though he occasionally issues defiant audio messages, was drawing closer to its target.
‘QADDAFI RUNNING OUT OF OPTIONS’
Libya’s interim rulers on September 22 said they had further consolidated their control over Sahara desert towns that had been among Muammar Qaddafi’s last strongholds, and said Qaddafi himself was running out of places to hide
