Libyan army advances against IS militia

Ahmed Abbas
2 Min Read
Libyan army forces gather at their headquarters in Tripoli before they deploy to the city of Bani Walid (AFP, Mahmud Turkia)

Militant forces were forced to withdraw Sunday from several locations in Benghazi and the strategic port of Al-Meraysa, Libyan armed forces affiliated with the Tobruk parliament said.

The Libya army said it also regained control of the city of Agdabia, 150 km away from Benghazi.

Over the past months, Islamic militias, most notably the “Islamic State” (IS) group, have taken advantage of the current political unrest in Libya to spread their forces into several cities in the oil rich country.

Conflict continues in Benghazi, with the leader of the Libyan army, Khalifa Hafter, having launched an operation against Islamists in 2014.

Regaining control of Al-Meraysa is considered a great strategic gain for the army, as militants were using it for arms supplies.

Violence in Libya persists as the UN tries to support a political process in order to end the conflict between the two warring parliaments.

The presidential council has formed a new national unity government, but Tobruk parliament is yet to vote on it.

UN envoy to Libya Martin Kobler headed to Tobruk on Sunday to urge the parliament to vote.

“The eyes of the people of Libya are on Tobruk. They expect a [Government of National Accord]. I am here in Tobruk today to help, not to interfere,” said Kobler on his Twitter account.

Earlier this week, the United States began raids on “Islamic State” (IS) locations in Libya after growing concern among world powers over IS gains, especially near oil facilities.

The raid killed 50 people, including two Serbian citizens who were kidnapped in Libya.

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Ahmed Abbas is a journalist at DNE’s politics section. He previously worked as Egypt based reporter for Correspondents.org, and interned as a broadcast journalist at Deutsche Welle TV in Berlin. Abbas is a fellow of Salzburg Academy of Media and Global Change. He holds a Master’s Degree of Journalism and New Media from Jordan Media Institute. He was awarded by the ICFJ for best public service reporting in 2013, and by the German foreign office for best feature in 2014.
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