The Waiting Game: Tensions Mount In Libya

In a small, dusty village 30 miles north of Bani Walid, the occasional burst of gunfire signals the growing frustration of anti-Gaddafi fighters who have been waiting to advance for days.

Rumours swirl along with the sand about what might be happening inside the town, the strength or otherwise of the pro-Gaddafi fighters holed up there - and who they might be trying to protect.

"Saif was there," one anti-Gaddafi fighter insists, referring to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's son, Saif al Islam. Others are confident that Saif is long gone, but believe the other sons, Mutassim and Saadi, might still be there.

Bani Walid, a former regime stronghold 100 miles south of Tripoli, seems to have been a favoured stop off point for the fleeing regime.

In the days after the capital fell to anti-Gaddafi forces, there were reports that a convoy carrying Col Gaddafi had passed through the town.

Other members of his family are thought to have followed a similar route.

Further south lies Sabha, a city still loyal to Col Gaddafi, and beyond that the open desert with its borders with Algeria, Niger and Chad.

In all of the whispers of convoys on the move with gold and cash, the only confirmed sighting appears to be the arrival of Col Gaddafi's security chief Mansour Dhao in Niger .

That country said he had been granted entry on "humanitarian grounds".

Col Gaddafi's whereabouts are still a mystery, although a military commander from the National Transitional Council (NTC) claims to have narrowed down his location to a 40km area and says that he is surrounded by NTC forces so he cannot escape.

It might be just another rumour but, stuck in the unforgiving heat outside Bani Walid, the anti-Gaddafi forces want to believe that it is true.

The fate of the 100,000 people inside the town is also less than certain, along with their allegiances.

Some anti-Gaddafi fighters say the residents are being held as human shields by pro-Gaddafi forces who have taken up sniping positions on rooftops to prevent them from leaving.

"That is why it is urgent that we go in there because the people are not safe," one man said.

But Bani Walid was loyal to Col Gaddafi, and the conversion of the entire population who had been warned that the NTC forces were "thugs" by the former "Brother Leader" seems unlikely.

The only certainty at the moment appears to be that there will be many more hours of waiting.

The deadline for Bani Walid's surrender is Saturday, say some commanders - but when pressed they admit that they are not really sure.