STEP BACK

Rebels Extend Surrender Deadline

But Gaddafi vows to fight on.

The rebel leadership in Tripoli on Thursday extended the deadline for forces loyal to Col. Muammar Gaddafi to surrender, although the embattled leader vowed to fight on. In an audio broadcast played on Arabic television news channels, Gaddafi declared his hometown of Sirte as the new capital and accused NATO of occupying Libya. Saying the Libyan people are “not a herd of sheep,” Gaddafi said they were “heavily armed” and said the rebels’ “supplies will run out, but ours will never run out.” The rebels had set Sept. 1—the anniversary of when Gaddafi rose to power in 1969—as the ultimate deadline for Gaddafi and his forces to surrender, but provisional government pushed it back until Sept. 10. Abdel Hafiz Ghoga, the deputy chairman of the provisional government, said Wednesday the deadline had been extended because “there are good indications things are moving in the right direction.”