Complex sentence: As the birthplace of Muammar Gaddafi, Sirte was favoured by the Gaddafi regime, and as of mid-October 2011, it appears to be the final stronghold of Gaddafi loyalists in the Libyan civil war.
Split into simpler sentences: As the birthplace of Muammar Gaddafi, Sirte was favoured by the Gaddafi regime. The city was the final major stronghold of Gaddafi loyalists in the Libyan civil war.