30 killed in ongoing clashes

WADI DINAR, (AP)

Pro-government militias battled fighters in a former stronghold of the late Libyan dictator Moammar Gadaffi yesterday, the fifth straight day of clashes that have killed at least 30 people.

The government-supported fighting in Bani Walid, some 140 kilometres (90 miles) southeast of Tripoli, has overlapped with the anniversary of the capture and killing of Gadaffi on October 20, 2011. A year since his death brought an end to Libya's civil war, Bani Walid is the most significant city in the country to still resist the nation's new authorities.

A Bani Walid resident said yesterday by telephone that pro-government militias and fighters in the city were clashing on the outskirts. The resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, said there were reports of new casualties, but that the fighting was less intense than a day earlier.

In Tripoli, some 200 protesters muscled their way into the parliament building, demanding the fighting in Bani Walid stop and saying only civilians are getting hurt. A pro-government militiaman near Bani Walid said there were no civilians in the conflict area, and said his forces helped evacuate hundreds of residents a day earlier.