Its entrances are reportedly mined,the streets and alleys bristle with armed fighters from Muammar Gaddafis tribe. This is Surt,Gaddafis hometown the halfway point between the rebel capital and Tripoli and a major obstacle on the oppositions march west. It will not be easy for rebels to take the Mediterranean coastal city. Gaddafis tribe is the most powerful in the city of some 1,50,000,which is guarded by an elite unit led by one of his sons. Opposition commanders are hoping that dissident tribes within Surt will rise up to help them as their forces move in on the city. Armed Gaddafi supporters were roaming Surts streets,witnesses said. The men were mostly in civilian clothes and many wore green bandanas to show their loyalty to Gaddafi. Over the years,Gaddafi has effectively turned Surt into a second capital,spending millions of dollars to build conference halls and hotels to use it as a venue for Arab and African summit meetings.
