Libyan interim government forces recaptured the airport in Sirte, Muammar Qadhafi's birthplace, on Thursday, amid mounting concern for civilians trapped inside the besieged city. National Transitional Council (NTC) fighters took full control of Sirte airport, Reuters witnesses said. They had taken it two weeks ago, but then lost it again.
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Sirte's pro-Qadhafi defenders have used sniper, rocket and artillery fire to fight off two full-scale NTC assaults on the city in the past week. Each side has accused the other of endangering civilians. Civilians have been fleeing Sirte, a coastal city of 100,000 that is also under Nato aerial attack, and Libyan authorities have asked the United Nations for fuel for ambulances to evacuate wounded, a UN source in Libya said.
Interpol has already issued "red notices" for the arrest of Qadhafi, his son Saif al-Islam and his intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi, all wanted for the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity. Qadhafi's former prime minister, Al-Baghdadi Ali al-Mahmoudi, who had fled to Tunisia, only to be arrested for illegal entry, has started a hunger strike in prison to protest a Libyan request for his extradition, his lawyer said.