| Submit your comments on this article |
| Africa North |
| Government Forces Seize District in Sirte |
| 2016-08-10 |
| Cairo- The media bureau of the Operation of “Al-Bunyan Al-Marsous” announced that the forces took over a neighborhood in Sirte and liberated hospitality palaces, previously occupied by ISIS. The bureau said this advancement took place after the government forces had targeted ISIS snipers. The Libyan National Army in eastern Libya said that the forces are carrying out almost daily operations against extremist groups in Benghazi. The forces accepted to let residents flee the conflict zones, but extremists refused. “We gave several chances to families and elderlies to escape but ISIS hurdled these pursuits”, Ahmed al-Mesmari, the spokesman for Haftar’s forces, told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper. The American envoy to Libya, Jonathan Winer, expressed his concern over oil fields after news spread on the possibility of the outbreak of war between those fighting to get their hands on them. Winer tweeted that Libyan parties must resort to dialogue and avoid any threats to oil sector and the fragile Libyan economy. Winer statements coincide with British Ambassador to Libya Peter Millett declaring his country “is willing to assist Libya technically and professionally in the fields of oil and gas production to boost Libyan production and economy.” National Oil Corporation in Tripoli also seemed worried, in a statement issued on Sunday, over possible conflict between Libyan National Army and Petroleum Facilities Guards (PFG) at Zwetina oil port. The statement called on both opponents to avoid more destruction to the country’s infrastructure. Mustafa Sanalla, chairman of the National Oil Corporation in Tripoli, called on both PFG and Libyan National Army to refrain from any military action that could damage the facilities at the oil terminal at Zwetina. More from Libya Herald Tripoli, 8 August 2016: The Misratan-led Bunyan Marsous operation against the so-called Islamic State (IS) says the Ouagadougou Centre in Sirte and the Ibn Sina Hospital are now almost within its grasp following yesterday’s capture of the nearby government hospitality buildings. Heavy fighting, however, was reported today in central Sirte’a Shabiya district next to the hospitality buildings, with IS snipers still highly active. One source in the town described the fighting as a “street war” which was going very slowly. Shabiya district is just north of Ougadougou Centre which, with its network of underground facilities on more than one level, remains the main base for IS operations in the town. Although Bunyan Marsous continues to say almost nothing about US air strikes, they are seen as the main reason for its advance against IS. The US Africa Command – Africom – said yesterday that it had carried out 20 airstrikes on IS positions since its Operation Odyssey Lightening began on 1 August. On Saturday, it said it hit four IS positions and five on Sunday, including three supply trucks and two rocket launchers. The strikes, it noted, were at the request of “and in coordination with” the Government of National Accord (GNA). Bunyan Marsous has also stopped giving casualty figures. However, according to Misrata Central Hospital, four soldiers were killed yesterday. A further 47 were reported wounded. |
| Posted by:badanov |
| #1 Hospitality palace sounds like another term for bawdy house. |
| Posted by: Abu Uluque 2016-08-10 12:45 |