NATO has launched a bombing campaign on Muammar Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte to clear the way for fighters supporting Libya's interim government to advance deeper into the city and gain control.
The forces of the National Transitional Council (NTC) prepared to renew their advance into the coastal city on Monday, a day after the roar of jet engines and sporadic booms could be heard as NATO ordnance hit targets on the ground.
One strike, giving off a deep thud, released a big cloud of smoke and dust over the south of the city.
"NATO has dropped a lot of bombs today," said one NTC fighter, who declined to give his name. "You can see the planes up above. They struck along here," he said, gesturing with his hand across the area south of the city centre.
Earlier this weekend, NTC forces had pushed to within a few hundred metres of the centre of Sirte - one of the last bastions of pro-Gaddafi resistance in Libya - but later drew back to let the NATO jets do their work.
"Yesterday our freedom fighters attacked Sirte city from two sides. That doesn't mean that Sirte is free now, but it is an indication that Sirte will be free soon," said Ahmed Bani, an NTC military spokesman in Tripoli.
"I'm asking now any militiamen fighting on the side of the tyrant [to realise] that the game is over."
NATO's support for the anti-Gaddafi rebellion played a major part in toppling Gaddafi and the alliance says it will keep up its operations for as long as needed.
In a statement, the alliance said its sorties in the vicinity of Sirte had struck targets that included two command and control facilities, a military staging area, a storage bunker and radar facility, and 29 armed vehicles.
Meanwhile, many residents of Sirte have taken advantage of the relative lull in fighting to flee the city.
While many residents have claimed that Gaddafi's troops are attempting to prevent civilians from leaving, a Gaddafi spokesman has accused NATO of killing several hundred civilians in strikes on the city.
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