Libya: Govt forces report gains against Daesh in Sirte

By Osama Ali

TRIPOLI, Libya

Libyan government forces have reported major gains against Daesh militants in the coastal city of Sirte.

Our forces “have managed to control the internal security headquarters” in the city, Mohamed al-Ghosri, a spokesman for the government’s ongoing anti-Daesh campaign, told Anadolu Agency on Sunday.

He said government forces have also advanced into neighborhood Number One, a major Daesh stronghold in the city.

“The fighting is accompanied by airstrikes against Daesh positions in neighborhood Number Three, another Daesh stronghold,” he added.

For weeks, forces aligned with the UN-backed unity government have been fighting Daesh militants in an effort to recapture Sirte, which was overrun by the terrorist group in 2015.

Daesh militants are now reportedly surrounded in Sirte’s central residential area.

Libya has remained in a state of turmoil since 2011, when a bloody uprising ended with the ouster and death of longtime strongman Muammar Gaddafi.

Since then, the country’s stark political divisions have yielded two rival seats of government, one in Tobruk and another in Tripoli.

Late last year, Libya’s rival governments signed a UN-backed agreement to establish a unity government in an effort to resolve the country’s ongoing political standoff.