TRIPOLI, Libya — Libyan fighters have completely surrounded Moammar Gadhafi’s hometown of Sirte and are engaged in heavy clashes with his loyalists on the city’s streets, a revolutionary commander said Saturday.

Last week, the Libyan defense ministry announced that Sirte’s port, airport and military base were all under the revolutionary forces’ control.

On Saturday, commander Musatafa al-Rubaie said that even though the fighters have surrounded Sirte from all sides, a path out has been left for civilians who still want to leave the coastal city. After weeks of fighting Gadhafi’s loyalists inside Sirte, the fighters now hold positions about 3 miles from the city center, he said.

Al-Rubaie said fighters from the east seized control of Sirte’s first residential district and a hotel where Gadhafi’s snipers were based.

“There is heavy fighting going on in the streets of Sirte right now,” he said. “The enemy is besieged from the south, east and west but it’s still in possession of highly sophisticated weapons and a large amount of ammunition.”