Libyan government troops are clashing with supporters of ousted leader Col Muammar Gaddafi in one of his last strongholds, Sirte, reports say.

Black smoke was seen rising from the coastal city after National Transitional Council (NTC) soldiers reportedly entered from the west.

A BBC correspondent says NTC forces have also moved from the east towards Sirte, Col Gaddafi’s birthplace.

It is not known if the colonel or his family members are in the city.

Sirte, one of two remaining bastions of support for Col Gaddafi, has fiercely resisted attempts by NTC forces to capture it over recent weeks.

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Columns of anti-Qaddafi forces entered Bani Walid on Friday after their position came under attack and one of their number said they were planning to take the town, one of the last bastions of support for the ousted Libyan leader.

“We have received orders from our commanders and we are going into Bani Walid today from different locations,” anti-Qaddafi fighter Mohammed Jwaida told Reuters at a factory 15 miles (20 km) north of the city, where the rebels were dug in.

“We were planning to do this today anyway but Qaddafi forces launched this attack to prevent our advance. They thought we would run away, they are cowards,” he said.

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Libyan opposition forces pushed toward the loyalist stronghold of Sirte after suspending an earlier attack on Bani Walid, one of the last towns controlled by Muammar Qaddafi’s supporters.

The fighting continued a day after the chairman of the National Transitional Council, Mustafa Abdel Jalil, arrived in the capital, Tripoli, to take command of the interim administration. The transitional leadership has been unable to proclaim a full victory because of its failure to find Qaddafi and to gain control of the remaining towns held by his supporters.

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Revolutionary fighters representing Libya’s new rulers encircled and entered Bani Walid, one of the last towns loyal to ousted leader Muammar Gaddafi today, and fought with gunmen in street-to-street battles.

Libya’s interim rulers had set a Saturday deadline for several holdout towns to surrender, but fighters surrounding Bani Walid, 150 km (95 miles) southeast of Tripoli, decided to go in early saying they wanted to protect civilians.

“They are in the north of the city fighting snipers, we have also entered from the east,” senior National Transitional Council official Abdallah Kanshil said, adding that they had also made their way in from the south.

He estimated forces loyal to Gaddafi to be at around 600 men, saying pro-Gaddafi reinforcements must have been recently sent to the town.

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Fierce battle between Somali government forces and fighters loyal to al-Shabaab movement has taken place in parts of Gedo region of southern Somalia, officials say.

The armed clash occurred in a village about 5 kilometers from the town of Luq as the two parts used artillery guns and light weapons.

The fighting broke out after the rebel group fighter launched an ambush attack on military bases manned by government forces in the region.

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Libyan fighters who said they had tried to negotiate a peaceful transfer of power of Bani Walid, a key city still controlled by supporters of fugitive leader Muammar Al Qathafi, said that talks have reached a stalemate, therefore the final push towards entering the city is going to happen in the next 24 hours.

There have been numerous attempts to move forward with a bloodless handover of control of Bani Wlaid, but members of the National Transitional Council, have now said that by mid-day, Sunday, talks failed.

“Their time is over,” Mahmoud Abdul Aziz, a political analyst and one of those on the negotiation team., therefore, he added, “The push is going to happen in the next 24 hours.”

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al-Shabaab terrorist group launched a direct attack against locations in Galkayo city where Puntland security forces are based.

Puntland security forces repelled the attackers, spread out into Galkayo neighborhoods and seized control of the location where the attack was planned.

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