Forces now loyal to the United Nations backed government in Libya have announced the capture of a number of high profile Sirte landmarks in their attempts to wrest control of the city from the Islamic State, (Daesh).
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A handout picture shows the forces loyal to Libya’s unity government in front of the Ouagadougou conference centre in Sirte. The United States began air strikes 10 days ago on Sirte, which fighters say eased their advance to encircle the militants.
Fighters aligned with UN-backed pro-government forces took control of the Ouagadougou Convention Complex, which the IS (Daesh) had been using as a base.
Eissa said Islamic State militants have been cornered inside residential areas in the northern section of the city as well as palace complexes near the port of Sirte.
The U.N. -backed government arrived in Tripoli in March, but has struggled to impose its authority and faces continuing resistance from armed factions that control eastern Libya.
But they have yet to gain control of several neighbourhoods in central Sirte where an unknown number of militants are dug in. The GNA added that the Ibn Sina hospital, an adjacent property, and a University campus were also taken by loyalist forces.
Pro-government forces battled Thursday to clear the Daesh terror group from its main Libyan stronghold of Sirte, after dealing a major blow to the extremists by seizing their headquarters.
In total more than 300 pro-government fighters have been killed and 1,800 wounded in the operation for Sirte, according to medical sources in the city of Misrata, where the operation’s command centre in based. Islamic State said it had shot down the jet, killing the pilot, according to a statement on a website close to the jihadist group.
The news comes just days after the USA launched new airstrikes in Libya, centering largely around the strategic port city of Sirte, on August 1.
Libyan militants returning from combat in Syria’s civil war helped implant IS in the North African country in 2014, but the group failed to win widespread support or hold territory as most locals regard it as a malign import dependent on foreign fighters. The U.N. -backed government in Tripoli is the latest attempt to consolidate power and end the conflict.
In an effort to resolve the ensuing political standoff, Libya’s rival governments signed a UN-sponsored agreement late previous year establishing a unity government based in Tripoli.
Reuters reports that “Libyan brigades in Misrata and Sirte have been working with small teams of Western special forces who have provided intelligence and logistical support as well as strategic advice”.
Washington launched its airstrikes on August 1, with President Barack Obama saying it was “in America’s national security interest” to help the GNA “finish the job” of ousting ISIS from Sirte.
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La Repubblica newspaper reported that Italians were teaching Libyans how to diffuse land mines in Sirte.
