War crimes alleged in loyalist town Bani Walid

 BANI WALID- This tribal city of approximately 100,000 captured the world's attention in September 2011 when it was reported that loyalists here were harboring Saif Islam Gaddafi, who fled to the mountainous region after the fall of Tripoli.

Thousands of rebel groups from western Libya descended in heavily armed trucks to smash the loyalist hold outs and capture Saif. They didn't get him.

Bani Walid sits on a series of hills that provide excellent cover for snipers and range for rocket launchers. Hundreds of rebels were killed and wounded in attempts to assault the city head on. Bani Walid only surrendered after rebels gained controlled over most of its center and destroyed hundreds of buildings on October 17.

At the end of January, armed men in Bani Walid struck back, clashing with and pushing out a rebel militia who they blamed for abuses, kidnappings and looting. Now the town council said they will only accept the presence of "national" military and police. Although hard to define, the local council's independence demands probably amounts to a lot of self-policing for now to prevent future bloodshed.

(See video) Citizens of Bani Walid complained of rebels looting and burning their houses during and after the siege. "80 percent were thieves," one local said.

We were led to two civilian houses that had been completely burned inside. Their owners pointed out holes in the yard where they said rebels were looking for cash and gold that the people might have buried to prevent getting robbed.

We were also shown a house that appeared flattened by heavy bombs. The locals said this was a NATO strike that killed a family of seven living there. It seems possible that NATO bombs which destroyed a warehouse-looking area across the road may have also overshot the target and hit the civilian house. Such warehouses were reportedly being used as supply dumps and weapons factories.

If the family was killed, it was a horrible mistake and should be added to the growing list of civilians killed by errant NATO bombs. (A NYT investigation reported between 40-70 civilians killed in NATO air strikes during the Libyan revolution.)

When we asked people in Bani Walid why they harbored Saif Islam, one dean of a polytechnic college explained that it was Islamic tradition to harbor anyone seeking safety at your house. Another man said he saw Saif Islam in Bani Walid during the siege, but he was just "talking... but nobody listened to him because Tripoli finished". The people certainly suffered for harboring him.

Bani Walid is angry. Its people resent NATO and look at the rebel "Thawar" as thieves and worse. Just today we were told a story of a group of rebels from Tripoli's Souk Jouma who captured two brothers originally from Bani Walid inside a family shop in Tripoli. Their family is pleading for the brothers lives, but the rebels have yet to turn them over. Most likely the capture was a reprisal based solely on where the family was from and also a target of opportunity. The family of the brothers reported $70,000 missing from the shop.

February 17 in Tripoli: paper lanterns over gunfire

February 17th, anniversary of the start of the Libyan revolution. The square where Gaddafi once held massive rallies was filled with tricolored flags and fireworks. Instead of the usual celebratory gunfire thousands of paper lanterns filled the night sky.