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Early end to Benghazi battle may be premature
[Libya Herald] Reports that the Karama/HoR Libyan National Army (LNA) in Benghazi control 90 percent of the city and have pushed the Benghazi Shura Council (BSC) coalition from Suq il Hoot (the fish market) are premature sources confirmed to Libya Herald today.Last week Libya Herald quoted a military source from Benghazi saying that the army had initially taken the Suq il Hoot area. But later the source reported that the army withdrew from the area. It now seems that the army has not been able to hold the area. The Suq il Hoot-Sabri area, a continuation north along the coast from the port area, is an important enclave for the BSC-Ansar Sharia coalition, as it would be the only remaining piece of territory in under their control in the heart of Benghazi. Yesterday, fighting intensified further on a number of fronts. LNA air force commander Saqr Adam Geroushi told the Libya Herald that fighting was taking place in Buhdeima, Buatni, Leithi, Gamfouda, Gawarsha, Halees and Sabri. As well as tanks and missiles being used, helicopters had been deployed to bomb Ansar positions, particularly in Boatni and Hawari. The decision to attack on multiple fronts came from operation Dignity leader Khalifa Haftar ... served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all... , Geroushi said, after 210 fully armed fighters had arrived at Gamfouda (south of the city) by boat from Misrata to reinforce Ansar al-Sharia ...a Salafist militia which claims it is not part of al-Qaeda, even though it works about the same and for the same ends. There are groups of the same name in Libyaand Yemen, with the Libyan versions currently most active. Tunisia's Shabaab al-Tawhid started out an Ansar al-Sharia and changed its name in early 2014. It still uses the old name now and then, probably because the stationery's not all used up and the web site hasn't expired yet... And even though Colonel Mohammed Hejazi, front man for Operation Dignity, told Libya Herald that yesterday's fighting was the start of a "decisive" battle to finally destroy Ansar al-Sharia in the city, he confirmed that he did not know when the battle would finish. It is for this reason that some analysts feel that the predictions that Benghazi will be cleared of the BSC coalition forces very soon, could be premature. They may be pushed out of the central densely urbanized area of Benghazi, but they may take longer to dislodge from the widespread periphery of the city. Equally, the BSC-Ansar coalition have access to many possible landing points south beyond Gamfouda along the coast through which to receive further reinforcements. It is also thought that they may start to avoid the open confrontational tactic of fighting and may resort to hit and run and guerilla type urban warfare. Mutaz Gedalla, a Benghazi resident, active blogger (www.wakeupbenghazi.com) and close follower and mapper of the Benghazi battles, felt that the LNA may not be in control of as much as 90 percent of central Benghazi just yet. Posted by: Fred 2015-02-09 |
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