By the evening, the Libyan government stated that a rebel force entered the city on a suicide mission but failed to take control of the town and that Zawiya was totally under government control. A rebel commander stated that opposition forces were almost a kilometer south of the city center, on the western side of the main road, while loyalist troops were on the east side.[16] A Reuters reporter stated that gunfire could be heard on the outskirts of the city.[17]