TRIPOLI: Libyan Interior Minister Fawzi Abdelali denied that Monday's attack on the former regime bastion of Bani Walid was carried out by diehards of slain dictator Moamer Kadhafi.
"The information we have says that there are internal problems between the people of this city and this is the reason for what happened," he said on Libyan television.
"The information we have from inside the city does not say that there are green flags (hoisted on town buildings) and there is nothing in relation to the former regime."
Abdelali confirmed that five people were killed in the fighting, but said the problem was related to the issue of compensation for those affected by last year's war, "and the problem is between two parties in the city on this issue."
"I hope thuwar (anti-Kadhafi revolutionaries) will not rush behind the information broadcast by some stations," and will wait for "the publication of an official statement," he added.
Libyan officials in Bani Walid had earlier told AFP that the attack on the desert oasis town 170 kilometres (110 miles) south of Tripoli was carried out by pro-Kadhafi fighters who captured the town and set fire to the headquarters of the local council.