Rebels outside Bani Walid, the suspected hiding place of Colonel Gadaffi, await permission to enter the desert town.
4:39PM BST 04 Sep 2011
Relatives of Gaddafi and close associates are still believed to be in Bani Walid, and at least two of the former dictator's sons have recently been in the town, rebels say, and some believe Gaddafi himself may be hiding in Bani Walid – a bastion of Gaddafi support because it had benefited in recent years from the regime's patronage system.
The town, located some 90 miles southeast of Tripoli, is a base of the 1-million-strong Warfala tribe, one-sixth of Libya's population. In an audio message Thursday, Gaddafi said the Warfala would be among the tribes that would defend him to the death.
But Bani Walid also has a history of opposition to Gaddafi. Western diplomats in Libya and opposition leaders abroad reported in 1993 that the air force had put down an uprising by army units in Misurata and Bani Walid. They said many officers were executed and arrested.
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