The chances of reconstituting the Gaddafi regime are nil, but that hasn't stopped loyal tribesmen from battling the new government's forces to a standstill in Bani Walid, and fighting rages in residential areas of Sirte.

ABC News:

Revolutionary fighters struggled to expand the offensive into Moammar Gadhafi's hometown Saturday with street-by-street battles and commanders seeking to break open a new front against loyalist forces fiercely defending the most symbolic stronghold remaining from the shattered regime.

The fresh assaults into the seaside city of Sirte contrasted with a stalemate in the mountain enclave of Bani Walid where demoralized anti-Gadhafi forces tried to regroup after being beaten back by Gadhafi snipers and gunners holding strategic high ground.

Sirte, however, remains the big prize for both sides.

Anti-Gadhafi fighters backed by heavy machine guns and rockets tried to push through crowded residential areas in the city - on Libya's central Mediterranean coast - but were met with a rain of gunfire and mortars. A field hospital set up outside Sirte at a gas station filled with wounded revolutionary militiamen, including those on a convoy hit by a rocket-propelled grenade.

Meanwhile, Gaddafi and his son are nowhere to be found.