we're ready. >> are there many gaddafi people in bani walid? >> sure.not all of them are -- >> we have some inside now >> negotiations are continuing but some of the rebels here appear to be losing patience. they stay humanitarian situation in the town is deteriorating rapidly with food and water running out. so the rebels have moved closer to ban been a. their morale is sky-high. they easily outnumber the gaddafi loyalists and are ready to storm bani walid the minute the order comes through. right now they seem desperate to avoid a blood bath. >> ben brown reporting there. just want to bring you some of the latest news coming to us. saying a large convoy of vehicles has arrived in the area. as many as 200 strong in a northern town. it reportedly had a military escort accompanied by well-armed tribal fighters. colonel gaddafi's head of security crossed into that town with a party of other libyans on sunday. that just coming to us. we will bring you more on that as soon as we get it. >> you're watching youth day on the bbc. live from singapore and london

they converge on bani walid, one of his last stronghold. remembering the victims of 9/11. 10 years after the fateful day, how one woman cherishes her husband's living legacy. >> welcome to our viewers around the globe. surrender or face a fight. that is the deal being offered to those holding out in the libyan town of bani walid. it is considered an important key to establishing a new order. the rebel forces of the ntc sound increasingly confident about taking the desert town. our correspondent is with the rebels near bani walid and starts our coverage tonight. >> for now, at least the rebels are not fighting. they are singing songs of victory and liberation. they know they cannot yet claim that all of libya is free -- not until they've dealt with the final few pockets of gaddafi resistance like bani walid. one rebel fighter told me he fears that sooner or later, there will have to be a battle for the town. >> what are you waiting for? >> we will give the signal to enter and fire. we're waiting on the sign now. >>ñ are you ready to fight? >

could he be in bani walid? >> it could be that he is still in bani walid, but he could also be in the south. we don't know, exactly. what we expect is that there are high ranking military commanders. maybe one of gaddafi's sons, maybe one of his spokesman. this would be a reason for the heavy resistance. if muammar gaddafi himself is there, we don't know. there are rumors that he was seen on thursday but we cannot confirm it. >> ok, thank you. in another sign that relations with israel are getting worse, turkey is urging arab league countries to give their support of palestinian statehood. the turkish prime minister says that the recognition of palestine as a country is an obligation. he made those comments speaking in egypt on his tour of arab spring countries. >> the head of the egyptian military council gave the turkish prime investor a warm welcome. this is the first time a turkish leader is visiting egypt in 15 years. this comes against a backdrop of the arabs spring revolution and the tense relationship w

there are indications they could storm bani walid any moment. ben wedeman is live in the capital of tripoli. there's talk of rebels invading that area before the deadline. is that right? >> reporter: certainly that's one of the options they're considering, but what we heard throughout the day from rebel officials is that they're very anxious to avoid bloodshed. they say they don't want to spill a drop of blood or shoot a single bullet. in fact, what's interesting, the fighters at least to the west of bani walid are from that town itself or members of a tribe. it is in essence the heartland of the tribe which is the biggest tribe in libya and one that was traditionally close to moammar gadhafi. one of the fighters i spoke with today said if i go in there, who

in the capital of tripoli, bani walid.ing that area before the deadline, what have you heard? >> reporter: susan, basically negotiations have fallen apart, really now the negotiators are saying it's up to the military commanders to make a final decision on the fate of benani walid. it shows a rapidly changing libya. the colors have changed at this checkpoint on the road to bannie walid. the rebel's banner unfurled with a kiss, while a budding artist dabs the new colors on the wall. a sign old tribal loyalties are shifting dramatically. bani walid is the heartland of libya's biggest tribe and traditionally a close ally of the gadhafi ra seim. these fighters say they were always opposed to gadhafi and tried to explain away those old loyalties. >> translator: gadhafi bought off some young men with money, weapons and cars, this man claims. >> reporter: in many ways the bani walid stand justioff is a affair and they plan to keep it that way. there's no one else here, he says. i ask, you won't allow anyone in who isn't from the

so, the rebels have moved closer to bani walid. their morale is sky high. they easily outnumber and outgun the qaddafi loyalists and are ready for full-scale assault on bani walid the moment the order comes through. but for now, at least, the rebel leadership of the national transitional council seem desperate to avoid a blood bath. >> ben brown reporting there. now, european stock markets have dropped sharply with banks feeling the brunt of the losses. shares in paris, frankfurt and london fell as concerns grew about high government debt among some members of the euro zone. the current slide in markets began on thursday in new york in response to mounting evidence of the slowdown in the global economy. european commission president barosa was quick to deny the charge of recession. >> we don't face recession in europe. as forecast by european commission, it shows there will be growth. modest growth, it's true, and even across the european union, but, in fact, growth. that's our analysis. >> watching the markets opening in japan, we're about an hour or so in

if they take bani walid producing, that is a very significant step. the rebels are saying that they take bani walid and then the other three towns will fall fairly quickly. >> thank you so much for joining us. the hunt for colonel gaddafi is continuing as well. as the fighting continues, there is growing concern about the disappearance of thousands of highly sophisticated missiles and other weapons that are still being lifted from on guarded compounds in tripoli. western nations feel they could fuel and iraqi-style conflicts inside of libya. >> in a tripoli warehouse, at an alarming discovery. >> no security at all here. >> we have come to see one of colonel gaddafi's secret weapons stores, but the looters have gotten your first. >> this is a very dangerous weapon, and it is gone. >> this exact model. >> in the past few days, thousands of highly sophisticated weapons have been stolen from this one warehouse. no one knows it has them or where they will end up being used. you have to wonder, almost three weeks after tripoli fell, why no one has taken th

these rebels hope to drive gaddafi's men out of bani walid for good. in the distance, the signs of battle. plans of smoke from rockets landed near rebel positions. it was not long before the rebels were coming back from the front lines, having captured their first prisoners. this batch of seven of gaddafi's men, apparently also included a brigadier. the rebels said there may be more than 600 of their opponents to flesh out. >> as far as we know, from our experience and from the prisoners we have, there are factors -- there are factors that are professional. -- fighters that are professional. >> ambulances have been carrying the injured from the battlefields. so far, casualty figures are looking quite low. morale amongst the rebels seems to be very high. these rebels are taking control of towns like bani walid, it is extremely important. the revolution is not complete, and until they have seized control of the port towns with gaddafi loyalists, only then will they be able to declare victory. >> this is "bbc world news." there has been violence in the eg

the battle of bani walid. when we approached the front line late this afternoon, there was still hope fighting could be avoided. at this hour, this is as far as the rebels will let us go. their troops are massed down this road on the outskirts of bani walid. but right now, they are calling a meeting with tribal elders to try to find a way to avoid more bloodshed. is this brigade ready to fight if they have to? >> if we have to, yes. that's what we're here for. everyone here is trained. we all have our weapons. we want a peaceful resolution to this conflict. but if peaceful resolution is out of the table, then an armed confnfct it is. >> reporter: bani walid, a city of 50,000 southeast of tripoli, remains under loyalist control. so are parts of sabha further south in the desert and so is sirte, gadhafi's hometown. rebels know fwa daf gadhafi and several of his sons were in bani walid just days ago. they believe now he's fled into the desert. within a few days, you think you can finish this whole thing? "god wil

how many of you think saif is in bani walid? that would explain the qaddafi forces' fierce counterattack says the unit commander asim elghospy, blood from his wounded men still on his face. but today you got further in than ever before. >> yeah. yeah. >> reporter: today was a day you had the biggest advance. >> yes. >> reporter: but now you're pulling back. >> yes, pulling back, to put a new plan. >> reporter: but by late afternoon, a full-scale retreat was under way. the rebels planning to regroup and brace themselves for a replay in the morning. there's no question the rebels are brave and they're motivated, but they were... really suffered today from the same problems that have plagued them from the very beginning: that is poor weapons and even worse leadership on the battlefield. >> pelley: liz, i wonder, when was the last time we heard from qaddafi and what's the betting on where he is? >> reporter: well, last time he appeared in public was back in june. he was said to be in tripoli in august. he's since disappeared. people

and he said, he believes that he was somewhere between the towns of bani walid and sirte.walid, about 150 miles southeast of tripoli, sirte on the coast about 250 miles east of tripoli. clearly didn't give me a pinpoint accuracy location, and i still get the impression from -- from military commanders here on the rebel side, they just don't know exactly where he is right now, candy. >> nic, you began to answer, i think, one of my other questions for you tonight, and that is, we know that there are rebel leaders meeting in paris with other nations, talking about how they're going to put together a government in libya. are there signs on the ground that a government is beginning to take over there? >> reporter: i think what we're seeing on the ground is sort of if you will the reverse process of a government. normally you think of a government starting, forming at the top, you know, cabinet government and then trickles down. but what we're seeing here, when we go to the foreign ministry, when we go to principle hotels, when we go to former offices and buildings belonging to

this is the first glimpse of bani walid. it's like one of those famous frontier towns in cowboy films -- small, dusty and arid. there's no land worth fighting for here, no oil, either. but it's where libya's revolution ends and the green flag of colonel gaddafi still flies. this is now the edge of bani walid. we're on the northern side of the town. this is the front line for rebel positions and it is believed that colonel gaddafi's troops are just down that way and it's unsafe to go further. what's interesting about this conflict is that whereas the rebels took tripoli in one day this, complex is weeks old. as we filmed, nato jets attacked, a reminder that their mission still isn't over, that this town matters to all sides. for colonel gaddafi, it's a potent symbol of resistance. for his ponents, it's a reminder that they still haven't won the war, that the threat from the old regime remains. we watched some of the last few families escape. most say there are very few civilians left in the town. >> the conditions there sound

ten days of these exchanges in and near bani walid.ith the same scenario repeating day after day, most of the families and non-combatants that could leave bani walid did so. most, but not all. their orders are to hold off using the big guns, no all out assault, as long as it's believed there are families in town being used as human shields. >> we are trying now to attack them with small arms, to save the families. >> reporter: no help from the skies for the same reason. we can hear the nato planes all afternoon long, but they're not bombing. they're just doing flyovers. we went to the roof to get a better look at the fighting. it was fierce. the artillery was landing closer. even with our position -- or just below us, a couple less than 100 yard as way. they targeted this area, so we will move out fast. we did, and so did the ambulances carrying the day's casualties, soon to be followed by these soldiers in retreat again. the stalemate continuing. mike taibbi, nbc news, bani walid, libya. >>> and still ahead here tonight, our education

. >> the fighters have advantages kilometers of bani walid. gaddafi's supporters have been given until friday to lay down their weapons. >> we ask that there be no more bodies. we ask that the group believes the town for two years. >> it remains unclear whether the leader is hiding in bani walid. two of his sons at least are tied up there. gaddafi said that he fled. he said that young people in that it -- young people were ready to eliminate the mercenaries. many residents have dismissed the threats. >> what does he have? every libyan is against him. >> the head of the interim leadership is against too much optimism. he says the oil is what to be vanquished, then the much harder task of rebuilding will come. government forces in syria have escalated crackdown. violence also escalated in the city of homs. human rights activists say that 20 people were killed on wednesday. eyewitness reports say that there are scores of people defecting to the opposition. palestinians have officially begun their campaign for you when membership defying calls fro

but a short time later, further down the road to bani walid, a different story. despite the commanders' assurances that a deal has been struck, we've been stopped here just over 40 miles from the city. we're told it's too unsafe to go any further, and they keep adding to this roadblock. another commander claimed that gadhafi's son, saif, is in the city and he's armed 80 mercenaries. yet another says actually the number of armed loyalists is closer to 600. "we will enter bani walid with great force," he says. "we will attack from all sides." and late today, word that talks collapsed, and the fight seems likely. with rebel forces still battling gadhafi, questions are being raised about one of their top commanders, abdul hakim belhag. human rights watch found and released documents suggesting that in 2004 the cia helped in the capture and return of belhag to libya. at the time he was wanted as a terror suspect. the rebel leader said he's renounced extremism and like the fighters at the dusty outpost, he's focused on two things, secure the country and find moammar ga

. >> in libya comparable forces are preparing for an attack on the gaddafi stronghold of bani walid. talks broke down on monday and rebels say gadhafi himself may have fled there after the fall of tripoli. >> a battle the chant at a possible assault on bani walid. rebels moved to within 15 kilometers of the town and say they are ready to attack. moammar gadhafi and members of his family were thought to have been there as recently as last week. >> the situation is very calm. we are waiting for the decision from the council to enter, god willing. >> the national transitional council has hesitated to attack because it is the heartland of the influential tribe which is deeply divided over whether to back the rebels or khaddafi. elsewhere, the rebels are poised to advance on his home town of sirte. it is one of the final towns controlled by loyalists. with no end in sight to the six- month conflict, libya is counting the human toll which includes many who disappeared in the chaos of war. their pictures hang in hospitals and public places across the country. their names are ded ta list tha

on bani walid began early in the morning. fighters loyal to the interim goverment picking their way through the streets. they are trying to push forward towards their goal, the town center. it is slow and dangerous. close by, colonel gaddafi's snipers and other gunmen. there might be more fighters involved in the attack this time but it is still proving to be a tough fight for control of what is a key town. a new front has opened up for the strategic coastal town of sirte. thousands of fighters closing in to the west and south breaking through the outer defenses, getting to within a few miles of the center and taking control of the airport. here, too, they are facing fierce resistance. while colonel gaddafi's are making what appears to be a final stand in the town which they still control, here in the capital, more and more world leaders have been arriving to give their support to the new government. today, it was the turn of the turkish prime minister. he was following in the footsteps of the british and french leaders who c

he said he had been outside bani walid. he told me he was relatively safe but in a dangerous situation. he told me then he's been negotiating with national transitional council, rebel military commanders. they've also confirmed it. he's been negotiating to try and get a cease-fire for the town of bani walid. however, he said, on thursday, when his brother saif gadhafi dave gave what he described as a very aggressive speech on television, urging his supporters to keep fighting, saadi gadhafi told me at that point the national transition council, the rebels essentially said the cease-fire talks are off, if your brother's going to talk like that and right now according to saadi gadhafi, he believes there's no point in negotiations, that the national transition council is amassing troops to move into bani walid. he did, however, say, and this is very significant, he clearly has differences with his father and his brother saif al islam. there's clearly divisions emerging in this family. he said he is neutral, he's neither in the

he said he was outside bani walid, he was moving around, hadn't watched television much.e was relatively safe but in a dangerous situation. he said he's been negotiating with national transitional council, rebel military commanders. they have confirmed it. he's been negotiating to try to get a cease-fire for bani walid, but on thursday when his brother saif gadhafi, gave what he called an aggressive speech on television urging his supporters to keep fighting, saadi gadhafi told me at that point national transition council, the rebels said the cease-fire talks are off if your brother is going to talk like that. now according to saadi gadhafi he believes there is no point in negotiations, that the national transition council is amassing troops to move into bani walid. this is significant. he said he clearly has differences with his father and brother saif al islam. he said he's neutral, is neither in the rebel camp nor his father's camp and is trying to negotiate a cease-fire. the divisions are significant. until now gadhafi's family have been the power brokers, the main pe

he said he was outside of bani walid. he said he hadn't been able to watch television very much, relatively safe but still in a dangerous situation. he told me then that he's been negotiating with national transitional council, rebel military commanders. they've also confirmed this. he's been negotiating to try and get a cease-fire for the town of bani walid on thursday when his brother, saif, gave what he described as an aggressive speech on television, urging his supporters to keep fighting, sadi gadhafi told me at that point the national transition council, the rebels essentially said the cease-fire talks are off. if your brother is going to talk like that. right now, according to sadi, he believes there's no point in negotiations that the national transitional council is amessing troops to go into bani walid. he clearly his differences with his father and his brother, saif a al islam. the divisions are significant because until now, gadhafi's family have been the power brokers, the main people that have run the countr

the battle of bani walid. when we approached the front line there was hope fighting could are avoided. at this hour this is as far as the rebels will let us go. their troops are massed down this road on the outskirts. they are right now calling a meeting with tribal elders to try to find a way to avoid more bloodshed. if they have to?ready to fight >> if we have to, yes. everyone here is trained, we all have our weapons. we want a peaceful resolution to this conflict. but if peaceful resolution is out of the table, then armed conflict it is. >> reporter: bani walid, a city of 50,000 southeast of tripoli, so remains under loyalist control. so are farts of stab ha, further south in the desert. so is sirte, gadhafi's home town. rebels know gadhafi and sell of his sons were in bani walid days ago. they believe gadhafi has fled further south into the desert. within a few days you think you can finish this whole thing? god willing, he says, today or tomorrow, bani walid will be free. gadhafi loyalists have to know t

we're in the vicinity of bani walid, one of the final gadhafi strongholds. these forces are gearing up for what could be one of the last offenses in the libyan civil war. as you can see, they have quite a bit of fire power at their disposal. but right now they're going on patrol as they're gearing up to try to take bani walid. >> we are ready. we aren't afraid. god willing we will ender bani walid. >> reporter: we're now driving in a convoy inside the contested area. this is a place where really both the rebels and gadhafi forces have some people. the rebels say they have about 200 guys here in this area. they have several checkpoints along this contested area. they tell us they have both the manpower and the fire power to move into bani walid but it's not something they necessarily want to do because there's long-standing tribal foods between the people of misrata which is where these guys are from and the people of bani walid still holed up in that town over there. >> one important footnote to the libya story, it is 42 years to the day, september 1st, 1969

of wal-mart get off these loyalist rebel forces claim they've launched offensives on syrup and bani walid backed by tanks and heavy weapons as well as a nato air shield artie's media financial is in libya with more. we're hearing from the national transitional council here in the capital tripoli that its troops have apparently entered the city of sirte some five hundred kilometers east of tripoli that off his hometown and one of the colonel's last strongholds the m.t.c. report that at least four of its fighters eleven and other reports have been killed during these offensive seven others wounded and also there is information that forty could have been loyalists have been captured and since we are receiving reports that cut off his information chief doctor muesli brigade would have been one of them but this information is very hard to verify fighting over another center of gadhafi support bani walid some two hundred kilometers south of the capital tripoli continues while concerns over security safety of civilians trapped in the cities and the areas where the clashes between the rebels and

we're not sure of course is the back or for bani walid that could prove decisive. they've been preparing for this operation for quite a long time with major helping them clean path towards forming facilities in the area anywhere lead has always been known as. stronghold and people from this area since the beginning of this conflict here in libya been fighting against rebels all across the country and have been dying for. all the time been supporting gadhafi who has provided them with a very good emission and the best weaponry so that's clear that it will not be easy for the rebels to take control over these areas while they need it actually could darky who has been known and well. not surprisingly remains the country's number one priority is thought to be right now with his sons in this area and this is. one more reason to take. the national transitional council has repeatedly been claiming recently that tree fully is now secure and is now safe and that there were. hard to try to restore in the country on the territory now controlled technically by the national tra

pockets of resistance by gadhafi supporters rebel negotiators say ceasefire talks in the town of bani walid have broken down but the country's interim government is certain there's still hope for a peaceful solution the national transitional council says two of the colonel sons who have been blocking the surrender of bani walid have now left the area and unclear number of gadhafi loyalists are holed up in the town one hundred fifty kilometers from tripoli with a journey have been given until saturday to lay down arms more loyalists are making a stand in his hometown of sirte and several other areas but as artie's briffa national report is the battle for bani walid that could prove decisive. they've been preparing for this operation for quite a long time with nato helping them clean path towards. military facilities in the area anywhere lead has always been known as the gadhafi stronghold and people from this area since the beginning of this conflict here in libya been fighting against rebels at all across the country and have been dying for. all the time been supporting gadhafi who has prov

the national transitional council says to the colonel sons who had been blocking the surrender of bani walid have now left the area clear a number of. one hundred fifty kilometers from tripoli earlier been given until saturday to lay down arms or loyalists are making a stand in his hometown of syria and several other areas as well as notional reports the battle for bani walid could prove decisive. they've been preparing for this operation for by the long time with nato helping them clean cas towards. facilities in the area anyway lead has always been known as the stronghold and people from this area have since the beginning of this conflict here in libya been fighting against rebels all across the country and have been dying for. all the time in supporting gadhafi who has provided them with a very good. weaponry so that's clear that it will not be easy for the rebels to take control of a nice area while they need is actually could be very has been known and well. not surprisingly remains the country's number one priority is thought to be right now with his sons in peace area and this is. one

artes near for notion of reports the battle for bani walid could prove decisive. they've been preparing for this operation for quite a long time with nato helping them clean catch towards. the cities in the area anyway lead has always been known as. stronghold and people from this area have since the beginning of this conflict here in libya been fighting against rebels all across the country and have been dying for. all the time in supporting gadhafi has provided them with very good. weaponry so that's clear that's easy for the rebels to take control of a nice area while they need is actually could be. has been known and well. not surprisingly remains trees number one priority is thought to be right now with his sons in this area and this is. one more reason to take. the national transitional council has every piece of lead been claiming recently that is now secure and is now safe and. they're working hard to try to restore the country on the territory now controlled technically by the national transitional council that we see on the ground actually makes as. they

by relentless fighters who are being backed who are backing the country's new government sirte bani walid and sob now witnessing house to house battles with hundreds of civilians caught in the crossfire it's thought colonel gadhafi who is still on the run could be hiding in one of the siege cities meanwhile life is returning to a kind of normal in the capital but is r.t.m. or if an ocean reports there are some libyans who hope for the colonel's return. and months off to tripoli fell into rebels hands those who back the old regime remain defiant. in parts of the city the rebels triumphant campaign feels like it's never happened or did so somewhere else. who will do anything for moammar and the memoir even if we have to give our own life's seven subpool to the ousted leader just solves once they see how the camera. how we are telling me how could you tell the camera why. it's the same situation with alan is to. go if he's hundred percent dude we don't want this revolution we don't know the rebels we want them to go away. we are from television so i couldn't tell it on camera no no thanks if

we have two options now, either the surrender of the gadhafi supporters, but not the people of bani walid, or to use force to liberate all of meanwhile, the international criminal court asked the global police agency interpol for assistance... in arresting the fugitive leader for alleged crimes against humanity. interpol issued red notice warrants on friday for the arrest of gadhafi, his son seif al-islam, and his intelligence chief abdullah al-senussi,... following icc prosecutor luis moreno-ocampo asking the agency for help on thursday. park ji-won, arirang news. russia has begun operating a new pipeline that will provide gas... not only to russians... but also asian consumers in the future. kim yeon-ji has more. russia opened a new pipeline thursday that is designed to provide gas to its far eastern territories and, potentially, asian consumers. the 18-hundred kilometer-long pipeline, the largest in the far east region, connects the untapped gas fields off sakhalin island, khabarovsk..., and the pacific ocean port vladivostok. russian prime minister vladimir putin attended the pipeline

well fighting in the area known as bani walid southeast of the capital tripoli continues despite the recent claims by the new government's interior minister to take control over what's thought to be cut off is made into the last stronghold within twenty four hours this battle is indeed very important for the rebels actually for both sides this is the size of one in terms of engine is six months long conflict here in libya the rebels need it because taking control of this area would officially mean the end of the regime and the colonel's fall they've been preparing for this operation for quite a long time with nato helping them clean path towards. military facilities in the area. in the recent days but. what we're hearing from his loyalists on the ground in bentonville it makes it absolutely clear that this fight will not be easy and we'll actually be hard both sides this operation has actually started when the negotiations between the rebels and gadhafi loyalists on the ground on a peaceful surrender failed safe while islam has recently appeared on t.v. claiming that they will never