Cairo: The self-styled Libyan National Army says its forces have seized most of the western coastal city of Derna from extremist groups who have controlled it for years.
Spokesman Ahmed Al Mesmari tells The Associated Press on Friday that LNA forces have captured “more than 75 per cent of Derna and forced out terrorists from most of the city.”
Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, who leads the LNA, announced in May that his forces launched a military operation aimed at “liberating” Derna from extremist groups.
Haftar’s forces have surrounded the city of 150,000 people for years.
Libya descended into chaos following the 2011 uprising that toppled ruler Moammar Gadhafi. The country is now split between rival governments in the east and west, each backed by an array of militias. Haftar is allied with the east-based administration that is at odds with the UN-backed government based in the capital, Tripoli.
Some members of Haftar’s forces have been implicated in war crimes, including Mahmoud Al Werfalli, a commander of the Al Saiqa brigade based in Libya’s second city of Benghazi.
On the humanitarian front, the situation in Derna is critical, according to the International Organization for Migration.
Since fighting began in Derna more than three weeks ago, “continued shelling and clashes” have forced at least 425 families - about 2,125 people - to flee the city, the IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix said on Monday.
