Updated | Libyan rebels in ‘final’ fight for Sirte

Pro-Gaddafi forces and the Opposition clashed throughout the day in Sirte, where fighting intensified around the Ouagadougou conference centre.

Forces loyal to Gaddafi had based themselves in Gaddafi’s hometown – a city which was also a Gaddafi stronghold.

News agencies also report that at one point during the fighting, a heavy sandstorm covered the city hindering the assault and disrupting efforts by residents trying to flee the city.

Earlier:

Sky News reports that forces loyal to Gaddafi and the rebels battered each other with rockets, mortar shells and tank fire, as Gaddafi snipers fired down on fighters advancing through housing complexes.

The rebels’ mission started on Friday when they entered through the port city from the west, east and south, attempting to squeeze Gaddafi loyalists into an ever-smaller area.

“We started the attack at 6am and the first group hit the outskirts of Sirte. We were fired on by Gaddafi snipers. We had many soldiers wounded,” commander Altaib Aleroebi - of the ex-rebels' West Mountain Brigade, which led the attack on the western front – told Sky News.

According to doctors, at least 12 rebels were killed and 195 wounded.

Sirte is considered the most important of the areas that remain in the hands of supporters of the Gaddafi and it is the key city for the rebels if they want the physical unity of the country.