Libyan forces fight for Gaddafi's hometown Sirte

With NATO jets roaring overhead, revolutionary forces fought their way into Moammar Gaddafis hometown Saturday in the first significant push into the stubborn stronghold in about a week.Libyas new leaders also tried to move on the political front, promising to announce in the coming week a new interim government that it hopes will help unite the country. However, disagreements remain about what the Cabinet should look like.The National Transitional Council led the rebellion that forced Gaddafi into hiding and has taken over the leadership of the oil-rich North African nation even as it continues to fight forces still loyal to the fugitive leader.NTC chief Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, speaking to reporters in Benghazi after returning to Libya from New York where he attended the UN General Assembly, acknowledged differences but said a new government would be named next week to guide the country until formal elections can be held.This is the crisis management phase and it should be led by people who are efficient, even if they have to be from the same city, until the liberation of the country and until the constitution is established, he said. Then they can choose a government that they want.Revolutionary forces also have been unable to rout well-armed Gaddafi loyalists from strongholds in his hometown of Sirte, Bani Walid and several southern enclaves.Hundreds of fighters launched a new assault on Sirte on Saturday, a week after heavy fighting forced them to pull back to the citys outskirts. Explosions rocked the city and smoke rose into the sky as Gaddafis forces fired mortar shells and rocket-propelled grenades at the fighters. Ambulances sped from the direction of the front line, and a doctor said at least one fighter was killed and 25 others wounded in the battle.Osama Nuttawa al-Swehli, who was helping coordinate the advance, said fighters moved on the city from four different areas, meeting heavy resistance. He said NATO airstrikes took out some of the loyalists tanks, although that could not be confirmed.He said the intent wasnt to capture to Sirte but to increase pressure on forces inside, claiming they had intercepted radio signals suggesting high-ranking former regime officials were in the city.The former rebels had said they would wait to launch a fullscale attack until civilians could escape Sirte, but a brigade commander, Mohammed al-Sugatri, said the revolutionaries decided to advance because several families living in Sirte who are originally from the nearby anti-Gaddafi city of Misrata were in danger.