Libyan fighters linked to the army yesterday pounded the town of Bani Walid, a former bastion of toppled dictator Muammar Gaddaafi, killing a man and a child, a medic said.

“We have received two people dead and more than nine wounded until now,” said Abdullah al-Mansuri, deputy director of Bani Walid’s hospital.

“The shelling is ongoing so the number of casualties could grow,” he said, adding that those killed were a 13-year-old boy and a man in his fifties.

The spike in violence comes one year after rebels defeated die-hard loyalists of the former regime both in Bani Walid and Sirte, hometown of Gaddafi who was captured and killed on October 20, 2011.

The crisis in Bani Walid was triggered by the death of Omran Shaaban, a native of rival city Misurata who was credited with catching Gaddafi last year.

Shaaban, 22, was kidnapped in July and held hostage for weeks, where he was allegedly tortured, before the authorities brokered his release.

He died last month, succumbing to gunshot wounds sustained during that ordeal. Libya’s National Assembly on September 25 gave an order to the interior and defence ministries to find the perpetrators.

On Thursday, clashes prevented the President of the Assembly, Mohammed al-Megaryef, from reaching the town. He had been expected to meet with tribal leaders and commanders to negotiate a peaceful entry for the armed forces.

And violence on Wednesday claimed at least 11 lives.