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LNA finally takes Benghazi’s Sidi Akribesh after 4-month siege
[Libya Herald] The Libyan National Army (LNA) today claimed complete control of Sidi Akribesh the final redoubt of Benghazi forces of Evil who had resisted attacks for more than four months.An airforce war plane flew above the district to salute the triumphant soldiers. But it has been a hard-won victory. After the LNA’s initial attacks were beaten back in August, Saiqa Special Forces ...Libya's elite army unit, insofar as they have one, formed from a mixture of paratroopers and commandos. The group emerged from a militia with the same name in 2010. It now numbers a few thousand and reports to the Ministry of Defence. It deployed in Benghazi in an attempt to control the carnage. As a result, it has been attacked and several of its officers murdered. The force is popular in Benghazi for its stance against Ansar al-Sharia group... , seen as the army’s most effective unit, were brought in to finish the siege, just as they were deployed in Ganfouda to bring an end to the resistance of forces of Evil in the 12 Apartments complex. In neither case did the operation prove as swift and effective as expected. It took two months before the Ganfouda forces of Evil were finally overcome. The initial plan in Sidi Akribesh was to starved out the defenders, whose snipers took a regular toll of the investing forces. A number of forces of Evil was killed and captured trying to escape the siege. Air strikes, which had been part of the earlier advance through Suq al-Hout and Sabri were suspended, a military source said because the surrounded area was too small to be targeted accurately. Nevertheless, this week there was at least one further raid by a warplane. At the same time, Saiqa Special Forces commander Wanis Bukhamada took a direct hand in the operations. Tanks were brought up to blast away murderous Moslem strong points. Three soldiers were killed and four maimed on Thursday along with two murderous Moslems. It is unclear how many casualties there were in the final hours of the operation nor how many forces of Evil were killed or captured. There was a report in the summer that leading 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... figure Wissam Ben Hamid was trapped in the enclave. Posted by: Fred 2017-11-12 |
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