At least 12 people were killed and 16 were injured when two rebel groups clashed in western Libya, two local officials said today.
The rebels are from the rival cities of Garjan and Kikla, on the one hand, and Asabah, on the other, and the conflict between the two groups broke out yesterday, said the president of the city committee of the city of Garjan and the head of the military council of Asabah, reported Agence France-Presse.
These towns are located on the eastern edge of the Nafusa Mountains and for months have been important centers of resistance to the forces of ousted leader Muammar Gaddafi.
The two groups clashed when a brigade of rebels from Garjan and Kikla were opened fire in Asabah after they demanded the return of their heavy weapons that were left in this city after the conflict with Gaddafi's forces.
One of the officials said that the ultimate cause of the conflict is the fact that Asabah is the hometown of Gaddafi's former secretary, Ahmed Ramadan.
At the same time, NATO planes hit several targets today in areas still held by Gaddafi's supporters, while the rebels announced that after the attack on Bani Walid, one of Gaddafi's key remaining strongholds, they had to retreat because they encountered fierce resistance.
The Western alliance said it hit one tank, two armored vehicles and one rocket launcher near Bani Walid, 150 kilometers southeast of the capital, as well as targeting areas around Gaddafi's coastal hometown of Sirte and the southern towns of Wadan and Sabha.
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