Gaddafi loyalists in Sirte asked to lay down arms by Saturday
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Xinhua, August 31, 2011
Libyan rebel leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil Tuesday told Muammar Gaddafi's loyalists in his hometown Sirte to lay down arms by the end of the Eid holiday or face military strikes.
Jalil told a press conference in the eastern rebel bastion Benghazi that the rebels wanted to enter the town of Sirte in a peaceful manner and were still in negotiations with local tribal elders in this regard.
However, there are only four days left. "We have offered them an opportunity to coordinate with us," he said, "The window of this chance will be closed by the end of the Eid holiday."
If the efforts for a peaceful handover fail by Saturday, the rebels would resort to military means to enter Sirte, Jalil said, "We cannot wait more than that."
The rebels stormed the Libyan capital Tripoli last week and forced Gaddafi's forces to withdraw from the military compound Bab al-Aziziya in the capital. The opposition forces are edging both from the east and west front to Sirte, which is widely speculated as Gaddafi's hideout.
Meanwhile, Jalil told reporters that members of Gaddafi's family in Algeria have not yet been accused.
He said the Libyan National Transitional Council and Algeria have no deal on criminal handover. But he believed the Algerian authorities would not shelter those who deserve fair trial for a long time.
The relations between Libya and Algeria would not be influenced by the personal stance of some Algerian officials, Jalil added.
Several family members of Gaddafi entered Algeria Monday, but the whereabouts of the embattled leader remains misty.
The rebels are reportedly preparing attacks to capture the town of Sirte, which is located on the Mediterranean coast between Tripoli and Benghazi.
The rebel military spokesman Ahmed Bani said on Tuesday at a press conference the electricity supply in Sirte has been cut off for 10 days in addition to the shortage of fuel, food and medicine.
NATO carried out strikes in the area for the fourth day Monday, Doha-based TV channel al-Jazeera reported.
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