Gunfights broke out in the Libyan capital Tripoli on Friday between supporters of deposed leader Muammar Qadhafi and forces of the National Transitional Council (NTC), raising fears of an insurgency against the country's new rulers.
Nearly two months since seizing the capital, Libya's National Transitional Council has failed to capture the final holdout towns still under the grip of Qadhafi's supporters. Hundreds of NTC fighters in pick-up trucks shouting "Allahu Akbar" (God is greatest) careered towards the Abu Salim neighbourhood, a centre of support for Qadhafi, and the two sides exchanged automatic and heavy machinegun fire. Local people told Reuters at the scene that a group of up to 50 armed men had appeared in Abu Salim earlier in the day and had chanted pro-Qadhafi slogans.