Summary
5 September 2011
Negotiations to end a standoff in the Libyan region of Bani Walid have failed.
The area south east of Tripoli is one of the last strongholds of pro-Gaddafi forces.
Reporter:
Jon Leyne
Opposition forces outside Bani Walid
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Report
Opposition negotiators on the outskirts of Bani Walid and from the other side, a pro-Gaddafi TV station, all say that negotiations have broken down.
The opposition here in Benghazi say the talks never really got going because every time they tried to engage with them, Gaddafi loyalists just opened fire.
The opposition say they are likely to launch an attack very soon, possibly it is already in progress.
Inside the area it appears there are some desperate men. Gaddafi loyalists who fear retribution for what they did to try to suppress the revolution.
But the opposition say many of the civilian population there support the revolution.
There are many reports that some of Col Gaddafi's sons were in the area but the best guess is that they have already moved on as they do not expect to hold the ground.
Jon Leyne, 大象传媒 News
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Vocabulary
- negotiators
people who try to get two sides of a dispute to reach an agreement
- the outskirts of
the areas outside of the centre of a city
- broken down
stopped because of disagreement
- the opposition
the group of people not in power who would like to be in power
- loyalists
people who strongly support the current government or rulers
- to launch an attack
to start military action
- retribution
severe punishment for involvement in serious crimes
- to suppress
to try to stop
- civilian population
people in a place of war who are not part of the military
- to hold the ground
keep an area of land under their military command
