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| Africa North |
| Zintan and Warshefana forces take up positions at Azziziya |
| 2014-09-26 |
| [Libya Herald] Zintan and Warshefana forces have taken up positions in Azziziya to the west 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... as armed festivities continue on the outskirts of the capital. Wahrshefana military sources told the Libya Herald that the forces from the west of the country were acting on the instructions of the General Chief of Staff Colonel Abdul Razzaq Nazhuri and had retaken Azziziya after regrouping in Ras Al-Fai. The two local militias are now apparently fortifying their positions in anticipation of an attack by the Misratan-led Libya Dawn ...aka Fajr Libya, the Islamist operation launched to counter that of General Khalifa Haftar (Operation Dignity). It is made up of the Libya Shield militia (Misrata and Moslem Brotherhood), Libya Revolutionaries Operations Room (Moslem Brotherhood), and Tripoli Brigade (close to Abdul Hakim Belhaj, head of Al-Watan party). Financing and moral support come from Turkey and Qatar... forces. The road from the west to the capital has remains closed with reports of sporadic fighting all the way to Tunisia. In Janzur, just outside Tripoli, local residents have started cleaning debris from the road, the result of months of festivities. Warshefana's retaking of Azziziya follows days of fighting in the immediate area which caused dozens of casualties. It has put a huge strain on the local population producing food and medical supply shortages. On top of this the nearby Zahra hospital and other clinics were shelled and struggled to cope with influx of patients. Azziziya civil society organizations condemned the festivities as "gross violations of human rights ...which often include carefully measured allowances of freedomat the convenience of the state... ," and listed kidnappings, murder and torture as well as destruction of private property as some of the crimes perpetrated by gangs. |
| Posted by:Fred |