Reply #73: "It's nearly all over now," The Guardian's Peter Beaumont reports from Sirte

[pinboy3niner]

The main problem in the area we are in, where district one and district two meet, (is that it is) flooded knee deep in sewage. The clearing operations that have been going on have been plodding through this fetid water.

There are guys coming out surrendering. One of the fighters I spoke to today said, the people he was with, had captured about seven people. They are going in to the houses looking for weapons. It is still noisy but there is very very little incoming fire. It looks as though, if not today then tomorrow, the battle for Sirte will be over and the government will declare the full liberation of Libya.

It doesn't feel as if there is a concentration (of Gaddafi) forces anywhere at all. We were told that there was a concentration in district two. But we have just been in district two and there don't seem to be a lot. I'm told there are a few snipers still left in district three and the main area by the square, but almost by the hour the last defenders are getting rolled up.

The speculation is that quite a lot of people have just tried to slip away from the battle in the last couple of days.

Most of the deaths now seem to be coming from friendly fire incidents.

11.23am:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2011/oct/12/libya-battle-for-central-sirte-live-updates