Tripoli: Talks on a peaceful surrender of the Libyan town of Bani Walid, held by forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi, have ceased, a National Transitional Council military chief said yesterday.
The talks, which had been going on for several days, "have stopped because there has been no result," Abdullah Abu Ussara said.
"We are now waiting for instructions on our next move," he added.
Meanwhile, Tunisia has prevented a close aide to Gaddafi from leaving the country, a government official said yesterday.
General Khouildi Hamidi and his family attempted to fly out of Tunis international airport on Wednesday but were prevented by customs police, the official said on condition of anonymity.
Yesterday, Muammar Gaddafi resurfaced on the air waves to berate his enemies as rats and stray dogs and insist he was still in Libya to fight on, but he offered them no clues about where they could find him.
His defiant comments to a Syrian TV station came as the forces of Libya's new government tightened a siege on the tribal bastion of Bani Walid, where some suspect the strongman and two of his sons may be seeking shelter. In exchanges of fire, Gaddafi loyalists in the town launched rockets.
Bani Walid, one of the few towns still in the hands of Gaddafi's followers, has refused to surrender despite a stand-off lasting over a week.
