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| Africa North |
| Libya: Further clashes in both east and west despite ceasefire |
| 2015-01-27 |
| [Libya Herald] Claims by 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 to have launched a major operation today to seize Wattiya air base between Al-Jmail and the Jebel Nafusa used by the Libya National Army's air force have been denied by Zintani officials. Zintani forces control the base. Meanwhile there are reports that despite the supposed ceasefire issued by both LNA and Misratan forces in compliance with the call from delegates to the first round of the Geneva dialogue negotiations, continued festivities are reported south west of Zawia. Yesterday, air strikes were reported near Zawia as well as in the area between Sorman and Sabratha. Fresh LNA air strikes today have been reported at Ben Jawad, the small town some 30 kilometres west of Sidra which Libya Dawn's Operation Sunrise forces have been trying to take for over a month. The town, most of whose residents have fled, is the forward base for Sunrise fighters, with the frontline some five kilometres further east. In Benghazi, violence continued today as planes also hit targets today in Garyounis, Hawari, Leithi and Buhdeima. According to According to the LNA, the targets were bases controlled by the Benghazi Revolutionaries Shoura Council, the alliance of Islamists led by 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... . These, it said, included the headquarters of the Rafallah Al-Sahati Brigade. |
| Posted by:Fred |