Forces from Al-Bunyan Al-Marsoos (Solid Structure) continued their advance on Sirte the stronghold of the Islamic State. They have taken control of Al-Saadi military camp just south of Sirte. The forces, mostly from the city of Misrata have gradually encircled IS in the city of Sirte cutting off escape routes. The camp was originally the HQs of Gaddafi's slain son Al-Saadi. Sirte was a home town of Gaddafi. In Sunday clashes Misrata Central Hospital reports that 3 of the GNA-loyal forces were killed and another 13 wounded. Just two days ago the Solid Structure forces captured the Al-Gardbiya air base just 20 kilometers from the city. More than 17 IS fighters were killed and many weapons and ammunition were seized. Reports indicate that 4 fighters from Solid Structure were killed and 14 others injured. ISIL maintains that it had repelled an attack and killed nine of the Misrata militia. Even now they are making claims that they still occupy the base showing photos of it. The problem is according to critics that the photos are old and taken long before the attacks. However, there are many reports now and photos of the Misrata militia at the base. IS fighters are said to have retreated to the north towards Sirte. A top Misratan commander, Omar Al-Hassan of the 166 brigade was shot and killed in an apparent ambush south of Sirte. His brigade is backed by newly arrived reinforcements from the south. The brigades were able to overrun "Saad katiba" camp at Bohadi. There are reports that hundreds of families in Sirte are pleading for help. Some IS fighters may be fleeing south. Six Sudanese, suspected of being IS members were arrested in the town of Hun. Mohamed al-Gasri spokesperson for Solid Structure claimed that their fighters had killed at least 700 IS fighters since the offensive against them began in April. He said that while significant gains had been made in and around Sirte, that IS still had considerable power within Sirte itself. The PM of the UN-backed Government of National Accord claimed that Libyans would themselves eradicate the Islamic State but that they needed ammunition and military equipment from the international community to help them do so. A number of countries already have special forces in Libya including the UK, US, Jordan, Italy, and France. On the eastern front, the Petroleum Forces Guard are advancing toward the town of Harawa not far from Sirte. Meanwhile, General Haftar, commander of the Libyan National Army, who announced weeks ago he was marching towards Sirte to liberate it, has concentrated on fighting militants in Benghazi. The UN asked for a ceasefire in Benghazi during Ramadan but Haftar refused. He is also continuing with his Operation Volcano against fighters of the Derna Shura Council who were instrumental in driving IS from Derna and its surroundings. Haftar has been bombing Derna for days. The latest bombings have been near the public stadium at the western entrance of Derna. The UN has said nothing so far about these actions.
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Two armed groups formerly loyal to the commander in chief of the Libya National Army (LNA), General Khalifa Haftar, defected and pledged loyalty to the rival UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA). The LNA are the armed forces of the Tobruk-based House of Representatives (HoR). Haftar rejects the UN-backed Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA), as does the HoR. The GNA has been trying to unify Libyan militia under one central command but Haftar has refused to join demanding GNA militias be disbanded. Many of the militia are regarded by Haftar as his enemies. Attempts by the GNA to unify the country have failed so far. The HoR is to be the legislature of the GNA according to the Libyan political agreement(LPA) but must first vote confidence in the GNA. This has not happened with all meetings so far either without a quorum or disrupted, with no vote. The two groups who decided to support the GNA are the special anti-terrorist force and a military intelligence unit. On Saturday the commanders of the two units held a joint news conference together with GNA Defence Minister Al-Mahdi al-Bargathi. Al-Bargathi is an opponent of Haftar even though he is in the LNA and the Haftar-led Operation Dignity. Originally it was reported that Haftar had demanded that Al-Barghathi return to Benghazi to lead Brigade 204 tanks which was formerly under his command. This was later denied by an LNA spokesperson. The head of the Petroleum Forces Guard (PFG) who guard several oil ports in the oil crescent, Ibrahim Jodhran, is also a foe of Haftar. The PFG have successfully launched an eastern front against the Islamic State. They have captured several towns and are advancing towards Sirte. Martin Kobler, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) has urged all the countries armed factions to unite. Haftar is adamantly opposed to uniting with militias he despises and losing his position as commander in chief. In response to the defections and attempts to extend the rule of the GNA to the east, the command of the Dignity Operation said that it would not allow any ministries that are part of the GNA to work in Benghazi before being approved by the HoR. The Minister of the Interior in the HoR government said that the "Special Tasks Force" had been cancelled and ordered that all its properties be transferred to the Ministry. Spokesperson of the General Command of the Armed Forces of the HoR, Ahmed Al-Mismari warned of people "who want to backstab the armed forces, security departments, and the volunteering fighters of Dignity Operation by extending their hands to “the fighters group and Muslims Brotherhood Group." The reference is to Islamist opponents of Haftar who support the GNA. The Special Tasks Forces was one of the forces that provided security for Al-Barghathi when he visited Benghazi. Al-Barghathi rejected the order of the HoR to dissolve the Special Missions Unit and the Security Backup Unit of military intelligence. He said the order was unjustified. He said he supports all the brigades and forces in Libya fighting IS in Sirte and elsewhere. Forces of the Al-Bunyan Al-Marsoos (Solid Structure) had clashed with IS forces at Al-Gardabiya air base just outside of Sirte on Friday. It has now been confirmed by numerous sources that that the base has been captured as of today. Spokesperson for the brigades, Mohamed Al-Gasri, said that capture of the base was significant strategically as it cut off supply routes to the IS and trapped them in the city. Three fighters from the brigades were killed and five wounded in the fighting on Saturday. The base is about 20 kilometers or 12 miles from Sirte. A tweet gives a larger casualty count: "#Libya | At least 4 killed & 16 injured from #GNA Forces after clashes with #IS to retake Al-Qardabiya Airport #Sirte #PT". IS gained control of Sirte last year and also took control of the air base. The population of Sirte is about 80,000 but it is thought that most have fled. Al-Gasri said that residents who remain would be given a chance to escape before the brigades advanced into residential areas. It remains to be seen if IS will allow them to escape or use them as human shields. Al-Gasri said: "We are concerned now because Daesh (Islamic State) militants are hiding among civilians inside the city." Al-Gasri claimed that the brigades are operated solely by Libyan senior military leaders and soldiers and denied that there are foreign forces or military experts helping them. This contradicts other reports that claim that UK special forces helped destroy IS suicide vehicles. There are also reports that they are torturing IS by playing loud Bollywood music. Al-Gasri also said that at least 700 IS fighters had been killed since the start of the operation against them. He asked that the UN arms embargo be lifted so that the brigades could be supplied with more weapons and ammunition. He said that such articles as Night Vision Devices, demining and mine-detecting devices, as well as bullet-proof armour was needed. A recent report also says that the brigades now hold Abu Hadi, Arrawagha, road and Checkpoint 40 which along with seizure of the air base is pushing IS into the city itself. On the eastern front, the Petroleum Facilities Guard(PFG)which supports the GNA has taken two towns recently. The towns are near the eastern border of territory held by IS. IS is said to have retreated to Harawa just 50 kilometers or 30 miles from Sirte. The PFG is said to be advancing toward the town. General Khalifa Haftar, commander of the Libyan National Army associated with the rival government of the House of Representatives(HoR) announced weeks ago that he was marching to liberate Sirte but so far has not had any clashes with them. He could attack from the east and south. Such an attack would be disastrous for the IS which is hard put to defend itself on the two fronts already in operation. There is continuing confusion and contradictory statements about the status of newly arrived banknotes printed in Russia for the Tobruk-based House of Representatives (HoR) government. At first the Presidential Council of the UN-brokered Government of National Accord rejected the bills and the US Embassy issued a statement saying the bills were counterfeit. However, after a meeting between GNA authorities and those of the HoR, the GNA reversed its position claiming that the notes would actually help solve the cash shortage in Libya. However, the head of the Tripoli based Libyan Central Bank (LCB) still rejects them, apparently. As TunisiaLive puts it: " At the time of writing, Libya’s GNA controlled Central Bank appears to have rejected the legitimacy of the Eastern Dinars, though the GNA itself has accepted the notes as an alternative to their own. It is not currently clear if Tunisia will recognise one or both currencies." The UN position and that of many countries is that there is only the one LCB based in Tripoli and supporting the GNA. However, declaring illegitimate, banknotes that the GNA recognizes is a strange way to show support. The Tripoli-based CBL announced that it had received 112.5 million dinars worth of new banknotes yesterday. It posted a photo of a plane being unloaded. The banknotes are printed in the UK by De LaRue. However, none of the notes seem to have been distributed as yet. The CBL also claimed that another 250 million banknotes should arrive by the middle of the month. However, critics say that a complete list of cargo planes arriving at Mitiga airport at Tripoli showed no cargo planes had arrived. The critics say that the money must have arrived earlier and being hoarded or else it did not arrive at all. A recent tweet notes: "#Tripoli sources: despite CBL announcement that currency was delivered, still no cash in the banks today. #Libya". The Tripoli CBL has made no more statements about the issue and denied that the Governor of the bank would hold a press conference on the issue. The new banknotes are to be distributed throughout Libya. The critical shortage of cash has prompted new demonstrations in Tripoli. They are described in the Libya Observer and also the Libya Herald. The PM of the GNA Faiez Serraj has called for an urgent meeting between the two rival central banks and the HoR Finance Committee to help solve problems. The black market rate of Libyan dinars required to buy a US dollar is going up, reflecting the uncertainty being created. The situation is not being improved by the recent arrival of the GNA in Tripoli. Protesters against the cash crisis also complained about low living standards and poweroutages since the new GNA took power. The GNA and the UN are calling for unity with the GNA but the eastern part of the country is still being governed by the HoR and so far it has not voted confidence in the GNA as required by the Libyan Political Agreement(LPA). The LPA requires that the commander of the Libyan National Army (LNA) would relinquish his position to the Presidential Council(PC) of the GNA. General Khalifa Haftar and his supporters reject this and want him to remain in his position. The eastern banknotes are already being put into circulation. A tweet reads:"New bank notes from #Libya Central Bank Al-Bayda arrive to the cities of Jalu, Awjila and Jakharrah, a total of 5mil" More are expected to be distributed this week end. The eastern notes should also be distributed in the west in areas controlled by the GNA but it is not yet clear whether this will happen. Troops loyal to the UN-brokered Government of National Accord(GNA) are advancing further into territory formerly controlled by the Islamic State in Libya (IS). On the western front, troops under the Al-Bunyan Al-Marsoos (Solid Structure) have advanced almost to Sirte and have captured the steam power plant on the outskirts of the city. Troops coming from the south have managed to control Jarif and surrounding area. In Sirte itself, the Islamic State closed down its courts days ago and IS fighters and police vanished from the streets. IS also closed down its radio station. The Solid Structure operations room announced that three of its forces had been killed and 20 injured during recent clashes. A recent tweet claims the city appears virtually empty. Seventy five have been reported killed since the operation against the Islamic State began. IS has mounted a number of suicide attacks using vehicles. On the eastern front, the Petroleum Facilities Guard (PFG) that are allied with the GNA took control of the town of Nawfiliva around 130 kilometers east from the IS stronghold of Sirte. They had captured the town of Ben Jawad further east earlier with the loss of five fighters. No troops were lost in taking Nawfiliva. A new operations room was established in the east to coordinate attacks. The PFG is an opponent of Haftar, the commander of the Libyan National Army (LNA) who does not recognize the GNA. The LNA is the armed forces of the HoR. The Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Martin Kobler, claimed that the various militia in the country must unite in order to defeat the Islamic State or Daesh as he likes to call it. Kobler said at a meeting with French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault that a united command structure was needed under the control of Faiez Serraj the PM of the GNA. Kobler said: “One point must be very clear. The fight against Daesh must first be a Libyan fight and a united fight.” He said nobody acting alone will succeed and security actors in the west and east must unite their forces under a joint command structure under the GNA. Ayrault said that the priority was to incorporate General Haftar who heads the LNA with western militias. There is absolutely no sign that this will happen. Haftar has claimed it is unthinkable for him to join GNA forces until all the militias aligned with the GNA were disbanded. This is not likely to happen any time soon since the GNA relies on the militia for security. Kobler said that he has tried to hold talks with Haftar but Haftar refused. The attacks on IS from the east and the west and also the south have greatly reduced the area held by the IS and brought the Misrata militia on the western front to the outskirts of Sirte. It seems quite possible for the Islamic State to be defeated without Haftar agreeing to a unified command under the GNA. Haftar launched his own march towards Sirte weeks ago but for some reason has not attacked them at all. Instead he has launched Operation Volcano against the Shura Council of Derna who were actually instrumental in driving IS out of the city. Kobler's waiting for Haftar to join a unified command makes little sense, when the present forces appear strong enough to defeat IS, especially if the west provides them with more arms and ammunition. Already, UK special forces appear to be helping on the western front. |
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Ken Hanly
Ken is a retired philosophy professor living in the boondocks of Manitoba, Canada, with his Filipina wife. He enjoys reading the news and writing articles. Politically Ken is on the far left of the political spectrum on many issues.
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