A gun battle erupted Friday between hundreds of revolutionary forces and Moammar Gadhafi supporters in the capital for the first time in more than two months after a group tried to raise the green flag that symbolizes the ousted leader's regime.
The fighting began when a group of loyalists carrying the green flag appeared on the streets of Tripoli's Abu Salim neighbourhood, which houses the notorious prison of the same name.
Shouting "God is Great," anti-Gadhafi fighters converged on the area, which has long been a loyalist stronghold, in pickups mounted with weapons, setting up checkpoints as heavy gunfire echoed through the streets.
A Libyan revolutionary fighter patrols in downtown Sirte, Libya, on Friday. A gun battle was reported in the capital, Tripoli. Manu Brabo/Associated PressThe violence in the capital, which has been relatively calm since then rebelsseized control in late August, underscored the difficulty Libya's new rulers face in restoring order as Gadhafi remains on the run. He has issued several audio recordings from hiding trying to rally supporters against the North African nation's transitional leadership.
Witnesses said the shooting began after a group of dozens of men and women tried to raise the green flag at the end of a street in the Hay Nasr district.
"I looked out of my window and I saw men and women in a group of 50 to 80 people, carrying the green flag," said Abadi Omar, a resident in one of the buildings in the area. "They put one of these flags at the end of our street. This is when the rebels came out and these people disappeared."
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