Forced to retreat from Bani Walid by a heavily armed, well dug-in force estimated at several hundred, columns of fighters in pick-up trucks raced back out of the interior desert town on Friday after a day that began with talk of ending the siege and capturing senior figures from the old ruling elite.

At Sirte on Libya's central Mediterranean coast, forces of the National Transitional Council (NTC) seized the airport on the outskirts of Gaddafi's home town and moved toward pockets of resistance scattered across built-up areas.

But by nightfall, Gaddafi loyalists were still holding out strongly in Sirte and there was no sign of a rapid end to a siege which has dragged on for weeks.

"Gaddafi's troops are between the houses, there are a lot of snipers on the roofs," NTC fighter Mabrook Salem said.

"We attack them with rockets, it makes a lot of damage but it is the best way to control them," he said.

Reuters