Attackers reached a key intersection near the center of the coastal city of Sirte by sunset, but were slowed by resistance from pro-Qaddafi forces, reported the pan-Arab satellite network Al-Jazeera.
Television footage showed tanks firing and explosions going off in the city as fighters crouched behind vehicles and buildings for cover along the streets of Sirte, which has been under siege for more than a week.
The Associated Press quoted a doctor at a field hospital outside the city saying that eight pro-provisional government fighters were killed on Saturday and almost 80 wounded, mostly from shrapnel.
Anti-Qaddafi troops have been positioning tanks, artillery, anti-aircraft guns and other weapons for a new push toward Sirte. An initial offensive last week was repelled.
Libya’s provisional rulers had given Sirte’s defenders until Saturday to surrender or face an all-out attack by forces that have the city virtually surrounded. There was no sign of capitulation from fighters remaining in the city, which is about 230 miles east of Tripoli, the capital.
Civilians have been fleeing Sirte, once a city of about 100,000 people, where shortages of food, gasoline and other staples are now reported. Pro-Qaddafi militias controlled the streets, fleeing residents said. The city has been largely cut off from the outside world.
Reports indicated that North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato) warplanes were heard overhead as the fighters advanced. Nato has mounted a months-long air war under a UN resolution aimed at protecting civilians. Qaddafi stalwarts have accused Nato of acting as an air force for the former rebels.
During a 24-hour period ending on Saturday, warplanes struck an ammunition storage facility, an anti-aircraft gun, a command-and-control center and two armed vehicles that had been used “to threaten the civilian population” of Sirte, Nato said in a statement. Nato cited reports from Sirte of “executions, hostage-taking and the calculated targeting of individuals, families and communities within the city.”
Former rebels loyal to Libya’s transitional administration have said they would do everything possible to avoid more civilian casualties. But both sides are using Grad rockets and other weapons systems known for their lack of accuracy.
More than six months of fighting in Libya has left at least 30,000 people dead, officials say.
Rebel forces took Tripoli last month after several days of fighting. Qaddafi remains a fugitive but has called on his supporters to mount a guerrilla war against Libya’s new rulers.
Libya’s transitional rulers say the entire country must be freed of Qaddafi’s forces before a timetable can be set for elections and the writing of a constitution. They have vowed that the armed opposition will soon be crushed.
