Former rebels celebrate gains on outskirts of town

• published: 30 Jul 2015
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Bani Walid, 3 kilometres (2 miles) from the town centre 1. Wide of smoke following explosions 2. Various of fighters boarding pickup truck 3. Pickup truck driving away 4. Wide of smoke following explosions 5. Pan of damage to building 6. Various of revolutionary fighters with a Gadhafi loyalist detained and handcuffed 7. Pull out of fighter 8. Mid of revolutionary fighter at gates of Beni Walid, ambulance driving by 9. Injured man being put in ambulance 10. Ambulance driving away, pan to gun 11. Man with injured shoulder 12. Wide of smoke from explosion 13. Various of smoke rising 14. Mid of smoke rising 15. Various of revolutionary fighters arriving at the Gates of Beni Walid escaping from the shelling of pro Gadhafi loyalists 16. SOUNDBITE (English) Walid Turkey, Libyan revolutionary fighter: "We are inside. We cannot be secure, so we don''t know the area, there is no people to guide us where to go and what to do. So we take like four, five, six, ten kilometres in front, then we start back and we start the next day until we move them out of Bani Walid." 17. Revolutionary fighters putting up flag in road Wadi Dinar, 14 kilometres (8 miles) from Bani Walid town centre 18. Various of revolutionary forces that arrived from Tripoli as reinforcements to try to secure Wadi Dinar from Gadhafi loyalist ambushes 19. Fighter giving "V for Victory" sign and loading gun 20. Fighter ascending hills of Wadi Dinar 21. Pan of hilltop and fighters 22. Fighter giving "V for Victory" sign 23. Various of revolutionary forces patrolling the hills of Wadi Dinar STORYLINE: Libyan revolutionary forces repelled an attack by Moammar Gadhafi loyalists on Sunday but faced fierce resistance from a valley separating them from the loyalist stronghold of Bani Walid, fighters said. Explosions resounded across the area and smoke rose on the horizon as the two sides exchanged fire with rockets and anti-aircraft missiles. Fighters said they made the push without orders from commanders on Sunday after forces loyal to the fugitive leader shelled revolutionary lines at the northern gate of the sprawling town. NATO aircraft circled the area, but former rebels say there was no sign of airstrikes. Later on Sunday, revolutionary fighters made a tactical withdrawal from Bani Walid, but were set to return. One said: "We are inside. We cannot be secure, so we don''t know the area, there is no people to guide us where to go and what to do. So we take like four, five, six, ten kilometres in front, then we start back and we start the next day until we move them out of Bani Walid." Meanwhile, in Wadi Dinar, some 14 kilometres (8 miles) away, on Sunday Libyan fighters were trying to clear the hills close to the road that revolutionary fighters use to travel to the front line. It is thought the hills provide an ideal spot for Gadhafi loyalists to ambush revolutionary forces. The two sides have clashed for days after former rebels made a push toward Bani Walid and Gadhafi''s hometown of Sirte to try to break weeks of stalemate and crush the dug-in fighters loyal to the fugitive leader. Families streamed out of Sirte to escape the fighting. Rebels searching vehicles found many assault rifles and pistols. Some people volunteered the weapons; others were confiscated. While Sirte would be a major symbolic prize, Bani Walid has proven particularly difficult for revolutionary forces. The loyalists hold the strategic high ground along the ridges overlooking the desert valley called Wadi Zeitoun, which divides the town between northern and southern sections. The terrain has made the town a historical holdout: In the early 20th century, Italian forces occupying Libya struggled to take Bani Walid. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/50ae7cdc0302ba4a5c7eeea97085e3a8 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork