Rebel fighters were poised Saturday to assault the town of Bani Walid, one of the last strongholds of Gaddafi loyalist fighters in Libya.

Thousands of fighters were moving toward the town from three sides. Several pockets of fighters had pushed to within 10 kilometers of the town, but stopped to avoid being accidentally targeted in NATO airstrikes.

According to one rebel official, relatives of Gaddafi and close associates are still believed to be in Bani Walid, including one of Gaddafi's cousins, Ahmed Ibrahim.

Salah, anti-Gaddafi fighter, said, "We are at the border between Talhouna and Bani Walid. We are about to liberate Bani Walid, but we try to resolve the situation peacefully because they are our people. We do not want to fight with our people."

"We gave people a chance to go to their houses. We will enter the city within hours," said a rebel fighter.