According to a report by Reuters, Fighters from the Warfallah tribe -- the dominant tribe in Bani Walid and the most populous in Libya -- drove out rebel militia from the town this week.

Salah al-Maayuf, a member of the Warfallah Elders Council in Bani Walid, said his tribal body appointed a new local council on Tuesday and that Defense Minister Osama al-Juwali recognized the body during all-day talks on Wednesday.

"The so called Defense minister is reported to have told the villagers  that if they, as a tribe, believe that the new local council in Bani Walid will work, then we have convinced him that it can," Maayuf told reporters  from Bani Walid, a bastion of support for former leader Muammar Gaddafi during last year's rebellion.

"The villagers told the defense minister that they want to keep the whole country peaceful and that national unity was a priority," Maayuf added.

An official at the Rebel Defense ministry confirmed that Juwali had accepted the new council, but did not give further details.