Nothing is "rosey" about the fighting to take control of Sirte. Here an update from Al Jazeera:

Forces loyal to Libya's interim government say they have captured the airport in Sirte, the birthplace of the former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

Fighters belonging to National Transitional Council said on Wednesday they were in control of the airport after intense fighting in the coastal city, one of the last of two bastions of support for the deposed Libyan leader.

Sirte has withstood a siege by NTC fighters hitting it with tank and rocket fire as well as NATO air raids.

But intense sniper and artillery fire from pro-Gaddafi forces has so far prevented NTC forces from taking Sirte, despite more than two weeks of fighting and two full-on assaults.

Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr, reporting from the city, said the latest seizure by NTC forces marked the capture of a strategic site.


"Anti-Gaddafi fighters seem to be in control of Sirte airport, a very strategic location; they have been receiving help from NATO," she said.

But our correspondent said that NTC fighters have not been able to hold territory inside Sirte.

Charley Noble