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Defeat at Sirte may put paid to ISIL’s ambitions in Libya
[The National] The capture of the gigantic Ouagadougou Conference Centre in Sirte has dealt a critical blow against ISIS in Libya, albeit at a high cost to Libyan forces.For the past year, ISIS’s black flag had been draped over the domed structure, which served as the headquarters of the myrmidon group’s self-declared Libya caliphate that once stretched 200 kilometres along the coast. The complex, home to a vast central auditorium, was built by former dictator Muammar Qadaffy ...a proud Arab institution for 42 years, now among the dear departed, though not the dearest... to boost his dream of being seen as a leader for all Africans. Its concrete walls proved impervious to artillery for weeks, frustrating government troops, while ISIS snipers on its rooftops kept up a murderous fire. The convention centre’s capture by forces of the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) has robbed ISIS of its key stronghold in Sirte, a coastal town 450 kilometres east of Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... Photographs from Sirte on Thursday showed the black flag gone and government fighters outside the building holding red, black and green Libyan flags. The sand-coloured structure is now pockmarked with blackened shell holes and most of its windows are shattered. The Pentagon estimated that 350 ISIS fighters remained in Sirte on Wednesday, with GNA commanders saying the bulk of them were in residential areas close to the coast. It is likely that the remaining ISIS units, having lost their stronghold, will be mopped up in the coming days and weeks. Less clear is how many of Libya’s ISIS fighters, estimated to number 6,000 by Washington earlier this year, remain in guerrilla formations elsewhere in the country. Over the past 18 months ISIS operating in Tripoli have launched an attack on Miteega prison, trying to free tossed in the clink Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw! comrades, and in January last year killed 9 people in an attack on the city centre Corinthia hotel. Sixteen government fighters were killed and 11 maimed in Wednesday’s battle, adding to a toll of more than 300 dead and 1,500 maimed in a campaign that began on May 12 against the holy warrior group. The GNA also lost a fighter jet over the town, which ISIS claimed to have shot down. The GNA, however, insisted that the crash was accidental. The success of the Sirte campaign adds to losses suffered by ISIS in Iraq and Syria and follows the same model, with US air strikes and special forces supporting local ground troops. More from Arab News TRIPOLI: Libyan forces battling to oust Daesh from Sirte on Wednesday captured a large convention hall complex in the city center, seizing a symbolic base where terrorists once held meetings and flew their black terror flag. Securing the Ouagadougou Conference Center as well as hospital and university buildings would mark the biggest advance made by Libyan forces in weeks. The United States 10 days ago began airstrikes on Sirte, which fighters say hastened their progress. “Our forces have complete control of the whole of the Ouagadougou complex, they even advanced some distance beyond the complex,” Rida Issa, a spokesman in the forces’ media office, said. Photos posted on the media office’s Facebook page showed fighters with armed pickup trucks and a tank milling around next to the convention hall, which was pockmarked by shelling. The large domed building is a landmark in Sirte, hometown of late dictator Muammar Qaddafi, and was used for meetings and religious instruction by Daesh after they took control of the city last year. Losing Sirte would be a major setback for the ultras, already under pressure in Syria and Iraq. Posted by: Fred 2016-08-13 |
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