ISIS militants retreat from Libya bastion as militias advance

09.06

BENGHAZI, Libya — Islamic State militants were retreating Thursday from their main bastion in Libya, as militiamen allied to a U.N.-brokered government pushed into the central city of Sirte, officials said.

Some militants reportedly shaved off their beards to escape while the pro-government fighters, mostly from the western Libyan city of Misrata, pushed into the city center in their tanks and pickup trucks mounted with machine guns. At a main square, the militiamen dismantled the metal frame of what some Sirte residents had dubbed the "stage of horror" — a podium used by IS for public beheadings and extrajudicial killings during its reign of terror.

Videos circulated on social media show triumphant militiamen flashing victory signs and chanting "Allahu-Akbar" or "God is Great" as they drive around Sirte.

The capture of Sirte capped a month-long offensive by the Libyan militiamen to take the IS stronghold — it was the only major IS-held city outside Syria and Iraq, and was seen as a possible fallback option for the capital of its self-styled caliphate. The IS extremists are currently struggling to fend off advances on a number of fronts, including in the Iraqi city of Fallujah and the northern Syrian provinces of Aleppo and Raqqa.

In Libya, militiamen from the western city of Misrata have been the main fighting force for the U.N.-brokered unity government that was installed in Tripoli earlier this year. For nearly four weeks, the militiamen have been advancing from the west and south against IS. The extremist group dispatched suicide bombers against the militiamen, who lost dozens of fighters last month.

On Wednesday, the militias pushed deeper into Sirte, which lies in the central part of Libya's Mediterranean coastline. On Thursday, they reached the city's key Zafarana Square, where they dismantled the stage where Human Rights Watch says IS killed at least 49 people.

Misrata-based media official Ahmed Hadiya said his forces found sinks full of shaved-off beards and long hair inside a Sirte school taken from IS, suggesting that the militants tried to get rid of their trademark looks before fleeing.

A militia commander, Ali bin Gharbiya, claimed in an audio message posted on Facebook that the victory against IS militants in Sirte was quick. "Except for a little bit of anti-aircraft fire, they immediately withdrew," he says.

The government forces next goal was the Ouagadougou gigantic convention center, another city landmark, Hadiya said.

The center was the late Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi's onetime favorite conference hall where he hosted lavish African and Arab summits. IS had turned it into its headquarters and held graduation ceremonies there for those who completed IS-organized courses.

"The Daesh are cornered inside and around the center," Hadiya said, using the Arabic language acronym for the Islamic State group. "Our forces are preparing ... to seize the center."

IS militants unexpectedly showed little resistance once the militiamen pushed into their bastion. This could signal either a tactical retreat or a reflection of the small size of IS fighters remaining inside the city — after Western officials have earlier estimated IS strength in Sirte to be over 5,000 men.

IS and other extremists have exploited the chaos that followed the 2011 overthrow of Gadhafi in a NATO-backed uprising, establishing strongholds just across the Mediterranean Sea from Europe. Libya meanwhile sunk deeper into turmoil, with the country's feuding factions splitting it into two parliaments and rival governments.

This year, Western nations have thrown their support behind the U.N.-backed government in hopes of ending the rivalry between authorities based in the capital, Tripoli, and in the country's far east.

According to Ziad Hadia, who represents Sirte in the parliament based in eastern Libya, more than 2,000 IS fighters are thought to remain in the city. Foreign fighters, mostly from Tunisia and sub-Saharan Africa, account for more than 85 percent of the fighters, he added.

The Western-backed unity government, in the absence of an organized and unified army, has depended on the Misrata militias, among the country's most powerful.

Meanwhile, another force that answers to army leader Khalifa Hifter, based in the country's east, has announced that it has deployed fighters south of Sirte. A third armed group, which has declared its loyalty to the U.N.-backed government, on Thursday took the town of Hawara, east of Sirte, from IS. The group has also taken other small towns located between Sirte and an oil-rich area in eastern Libya in recent weeks.

Hadiya said the assault on Sirte has cost the Misrata militiamen the lives of 130 fighters and that about 400 have been wounded. Among the fatalities were two former government ministers who took up arms to battle IS, Mohammed Sawalem and Abdel-Rahman al-Kissa.

Before he was killed in Sirte, al-Kissa said on his Facebook page that fighting IS was a "gift from God ... this is a sacred war."

http://www.armytimes.com/story/military/2016/06/09/isis-militants-retreat-libya-bastion-militias-advance/85646284/

Isis in Libya: Jihadists 'shaving off beards' to blend in with civilians as they flee government advance on Sirte

10.06

Fighters backed by the new Government of National Unity have been advancing on the group's Mediterranean coastal stronghold

Lizzie Dearden

Isis fighters fleeing their Libyan stronghold of Sirte are reportedly cutting of their beards and long hair to blend in with civilians as militias advance on the city.

Forces allied to the country’s new unity government pushed into the city in tanks and pickup trucks mounted with machine guns on Thursday, backed by air strikes and bombardment from ships in the Mediterranean.

A Libyan naval commander, Rida Issa, said the entire coastline around the city was under tight control, leaving up to 1,800 Isis fighters unable to escape by sea.

With Sirte mostly surrounded, there were reports that some militants were attempting to blend in with displaced civilians by ditching their distinctive clothing and facial hair.

Ahmed Hadiya, a media official based in Misrata, told the Associated Press that his forces found sinks full of shaved-off beards and long hair inside a school taken from Isis, as well as mobile phones and leaflets pledging allegiance to Isis leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

In a statement, the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity (GNA) said its forces were in control of a military barracks, roads and bridges leaving into Sirte, where specialists were clearing mines and booby-trapped vehicles.

Dozens of fighters have been killed and hundreds wounded in a month of fighting in surrounding the symbolic city, which was the hometown of deposed leader Muammar Gaddafi and the scene of his death in the last major battle of the Libyan civil war.

Isis took advantage of the ensuing chaos to expand into the country, seizing Sirte and 155 miles of surrounding coastline in late 2014 to construct its biggest stronghold outside Syria and Iraq.

Civilians trapped by the terrorist group have reported “unbearable” atrocities, including regular public executions and corpses left hanging or “crucified” in the streets.

Brigades mainly composed of fighters from the western city of Misrata have advanced rapidly, driving the militants back along the coastal road west of Sirte before seizing strategic points on the edge of the city.

A separate militia that controls terminals in Libya's oil crescent, the Petroleum Facilities Guard (PFG), said it had advanced further from the east to reach the town of Harawa, about 40 miles away.

Fighting was underway at symbolic locations including the Ouagadougou conference complex, where Isis holds compulsory Sharia instruction seminars, and a roundabout where militants previously hung the bodies of executed enemies had been seized.

Mohamed al-Gasri, a military spokesperson based in Misrata, told Reuters: “We think that Sirte will be liberated within days, not weeks.

"The Daesh (Isis) snipers are a concern to us because they shoot from long distances and that has hindered us in the battle inside the city."

Pro-government militias have been the main fighting force for the UN-brokered unity government formed in January after more than four years of bloodshed and chaos following Gaddafi’s death. 

They are being supported by the UK and other nations including the US, which sending a second aircraft carrier and its strike group of guided-missile cruisers and destroyers to bolster operations Mediterranean. 

The Ministry of Defence told The Independent it could not comment on reports that British special forces were supporting militias in Sirte, alongside American and Jordanian teams.

The assault on Sirte comes as US-backed fighters in Syria converge on the Isis stronghold of Manbij on three sides, while Iraqi special forces push into the Iraqi city of Fallujah.

The so-called Islamic State has suffered setbacks on several fronts in the region where it captured large swathes of territory two years ago, including the loss of the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra earlier this year. 

Analysts have interpreted its recent wave of almost daily suicide bombings in Iraq, as well as propaganda hailing its expansion into Bangladesh and other areas of Asia, as an effort to re-gain momentum and publicity.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/isis-in-libya-jihadists-shaving-off-beards-to-blend-in-with-civilians-as-they-flee-government-a7073961.html

En Libye, l’Etat islamique acculé dans son fief de Syrte

10.06

MADJID ZERROUKY, CHARLOTTE BOZONNET

L’offensive a été fulgurante. Après avoir parcouru 150 kilomètres en trois semaines, les combattants fidèles au nouveau gouvernement d’union nationale libyen (GNA) progressaient, vendredi 10 juin, en direction du centre de la ville de Syrte, bastion de l’organisation Etat islamique (EI) en Libye. La veille, ils étaient entrés dans les quartiers périphériques de l’ouest de la cité. La marine a également bloqué la façade maritime de la ville portuaire : « Nos forces contrôlent la totalité de la côte de Syrte. Ils [les djihadistes] ne pourront pas s’enfuir par la mer », a déclaré le commandant des forces navales pour la région du centre de la Libye, tandis que plusieurs raids aériens ont visé des positions de l’EI dans la journée.

Joint par Le Monde, Ibrahim Bitelmal, le président du conseil militaire de Misrata, dont les brigades donnent l’assaut à Syrte, estime que l’EI vit ses derniers moments dans la ville : « Malgré les pertes et nos martyrs, le moral de nos combattants est au plus haut. Nous avançons sur tous les fronts, nous sommes en train de les étrangler. Nous espérons contrôler la ville d’ici à quarante-huit heures. »

Les forces de Misrata continuent de faire face à une forte résistance de la part des djihadistes, dont les snipers harcèlent les assaillants. Mais « une bonne partie d’entre eux ont fui ; les autres abandonnent leurs armes et essayent de se cacher et de se fondre dans la population. Certains rasent même leur barbe », selon Ibrahim Bitelmal, qui prévient : « Nous avons leurs noms, nous les connaissons tous. »

Objectif décisif

Sans attendre, à l’entrée occidentale de la ville, les miliciens de la Katiba (brigade) 166 de Misrata ont mis à bas le panneau publicitaire sur lequel l’EI avait pris l’habitude d’exposer les corps des victimes – bras tendus et dans la posture du crucifié – que les djihadistes exécutaient le vendredi.

Les « Misratis » ont une revanche à prendre. Ce sont eux, à commencer par la fameuse brigade 166, qui avaient dû battre en retraite en mai 2015 devant l’EI, qui parachevait alors sa prise de Syrte.

Syrte est un objectif décisif dans la bataille contre l’Etat islamique en Libye. La cité côtière, ancien fief de Mouammar Kadhafi, tué en octobre 2011 par des miliciens de Misrata, était devenue le fief de la branche libyenne de l’EI depuis le début de l’année 2015. Ses combattants avaient peu à peu conquis une large bande de terre de 200 km autour de la ville. Sur les 5 000 hommes que compterait l’organisation djihadiste dans le pays, 2 000 à 3 000 se trouveraient dans cette zone, selon les estimations de l’ONU. Un chiffre à prendre avec précaution au vu de la vitesse à laquelle ont progressé les forces loyalistes.

L’encerclement de Syrte a été très rapide. A l’ouest, les brigades de Misrata avaient annoncé, le 17 mai, s’être emparées de la ville d’Abou Grein, une localité stratégique à 130 km. Il leur aura donc fallu moins d’un mois pour progresser sur cette distance. A l’est, la Garde des installations pétrolières (Petroleum Facilities Guard, PFG), un groupe paramilitaire, continue elle aussi d’avancer et a atteint la ville d’Harawah à 75 km de Syrte. La semaine dernière, le groupe avait annoncé avoir repris la ville côtière de Ben Jawad, distante de 160 km, puis Nofilia, à 127 km.

Forces spéciales occidentales

Cette avancée spectaculaire a vraisemblablement été facilitée par la présence sur le terrain de forces spéciales occidentales – françaises, anglaises et américaines – qui appuient les groupes armés ralliés au gouvernement d’union nationale soutenu par les Nations unies. « Dans cette lutte contre l’EI, il y a aussi des forces spéciales françaises ou américaines », avait confirmé fin mai Martin Kobler, envoyé spécial de l’ONU en Libye. Jeudi, les Etats-Unis ont salué l’entrée des forces loyalistes dans Syrte : « Nous surveillons la situation très étroitement et nous sommes encouragés par ce que nous voyons », a commenté Peter Cook, le porte-parole du Pentagone.

Derrière celle de Syrte, se joue une autre bataille : celle qui oppose les groupes armés ralliés au gouvernement d’union nationale à ceux qui soutiennent toujours le général libyen Khalifa Haftar, à l’est. L’enjeu est d’être les premiers à bouter l’Etat islamique hors de Libye et s’assurer ainsi du soutien de la communauté internationale. L’entrée des brigades de Misrata dans Syrte est un coup dur pour le général, à la tête d’une armée libyenne autoproclamée, et qui s’est toujours vu comme le libérateur de son pays.

Après deux années d’affrontements et de tensions, la mise en place d’un gouvernement d’union nationale, il y a deux mois, a rebattu les cartes. Arraché sous la pression de la communauté internationale, ce nouvel exécutif, dirigé par Faïez Sarraj et censé se substituer aux deux ex-pouvoirs rivaux, a commencé à s’installer à Tripoli. Les brigades de Misrata comme les PFG, à la manœuvre à Syrte, se sont placées sous l’autorité du GNA. Avec la prise de la ville, d’autres groupes, sentant le vent tourner, pourraient faire de même. Le 4 juin, deux importantes milices de l’est, jusque-là fidèles au général Haftar, avaient ainsi annoncé leur ralliement au gouvernement d’union.

 http://www.lemonde.fr/proche-orient/article/2016/06/10/en-libye-l-etat-islamique-accule-dans-son-fief-de-syrte_4947467_3218.html#7poVMQaxbcdhM4Di.99

Les forces spéciales françaises opèrent en Syrie et en Libye

10.06

Sabotages, opération de ciblages et d’élimination de chefs djihadistes, les forces spéciales françaises mènent depuis plusieurs mois des actions clandestines dans ces deux pays ravagés par la guerre.

Des soldats français se trouvent actuellement en Syrie pour conseiller les rebelles lancés dans une offensive sur Manbij, une ville du nord-ouest du pays tenue par le groupe Etat islamique (EI), ont indiqué des sources militaires à RFI. De son côté, le ministre de la Défense français, Jean-Yves Le Drian, a reconnu un soutien des forces spéciales françaises dans l’offensive menée par la coalition internationale contre les djihadistes de l’organisation Etat islamique.

Officiellement, elles conseillent les rebelles arabo-kurdes des forces démocratiques syriennes engagées contre le groupe EI à Manbij, près de la frontière turque, précise le ministre français.

"Nous appuyons nos partenaires qui sont au sol par des livraisons d’équipements, des actions de formation et des appuis aériens de la coalition", explique Valérie Lecasble, porte-parole du ministère de la Défense. "Sur le détail des forces spéciales, c’est évidemment que ce ne sont pas des sujets sur lesquelles nous avons l’habitude de communiquer", précise-t-elle.

Si la France reconnaît avoir envoyé 150 membres des forces spéciales dans le nord de l’Irak, la présence d’éléments français en Syrie était considérée comme clandestine. Mais depuis quelque temps, des rares images des forces occidentales circulent sur Internet : des militaires américains ont été repérés à 11 kilomètres de Raqqa et des commandos appuyant les opérations des miliciens kurdes de l’YPG ont été filmés par l’envoyé spécial de France 24 fin février. Il pourrait s’agir d'Américains, de Britanniques ou de Français.

Aujourd’hui, Paris refuse de préciser le nombre d’opérateurs des forces spéciales et des agents du service d’action de la DGSE engagés en Syrie. Refus également de parler de mission de combat même si visiblement ces hommes sont engagés sur la ligne de front face aux terroristes du groupe EI.

Et en Libye aussi

La situation est toujours trouble en Libye. Le gouvernement d’union nationale peine encore à s’imposer. Il a déjà fait appel à l’Europe pour surveiller les côtes libyennes contre d’éventuels trafics d’armes. Cependant à l’intérieur les forces spéciales françaises opèrent depuis déjà quelques mois. Des unités secrètes américaines ont été aussi signalées sur le territoire de ce pays voisin de l’Algérie. Des frappes ponctuelles très ciblées, préparées par des actions discrètes voire secrètes ont été menées. Des drones américains ont pris pour cibles des chefs djihadistes. En décembre dernier, un site de défense révèle qu'un avion transportant plusieurs unités des forces spéciales américaines s'est posé sur le territoire libyen. Des hommes en civils ont été vu se promenant sur la base aérienne de Watiyah, précise Defence blog.

Le président français et son état-major militaire reposent leur stratégie sur des actions militaires non officielles avec un soutien affirmé au gouvernement en place. Des unités des forces spéciales françaises ont été repérées dans l’est de la Libye depuis mi-février par des blogueurs spécialisés, indique Le Monde.

La France ciblée en janvier et novembre 2015 par l’EI mène est entrée en guerre ouverte contre cette organisation. Des opérations clandestines sont menées par le service action de la Direction générale de la sécurité extérieure (DGSE). Objectifs ? Frapper l’encadrement de l’organisation Etat islamique, la décapiter et saboter tout outil qui lui permet de se financer.

Depuis la chute du dictateur Mouammar Kadhafi, la Libye est plongée dans le chaos. Des milices ont pris le contrôle de plusieurs villes. L'arrivée des djihadistes de Daech a mis au pas ces milices qui avaient participé à la lutte finale contre les Kadhafi. Daech a mis la main sur plusieurs villes de l'Est libyen et constitue une menace intérieure et extérieure. Depuis quelques jours de violents combats se déroulent à Syrte et ses environs, fief du groupe Etat islamique (EI) en Libye. Des informations font état de l'entrée des forces progouvernementales dans cette ville qu'elles espèrent contrôler totalement dans les prochains jours.

Pour faire face à toute intrusion de ces djihadistes, l'Algérie a déployé plusieurs milliers de soldats sur les 1000 km de frontières Est ainsi que des appareils de surveillance. Cependant la découverte par l'armée algérienne d'un impressionnant arsenal d'armes de guerre particulièrement redoutables à El Oued, tout près de la frontière libyenne est un réussite retentissante, mais parallèlement elle prouve que beaucoup reste à faire pour rendre la frontière hermétique.

Sofiane Ayache avec RFI

http://www.lematindz.net/news/20948-les-forces-speciales-francaises-operent-en-syrie-et-en-libye.html

Libyan forces 'retake port' in jihadist bastion Sirte

11.06

BY MOHAMAD ALI HARISSI (AFP)

Forces allied with Libya's unity government said Saturday they had recaptured the port in the jihadist bastion of Sirte, advancing rapidly against Islamic State group fighters encircled inside the city.

The fall of Sirte, the hometown of ousted dictator Moamer Kadhafi, would be a major setback for the extremists who have also lost territory in Syria and Iraq where they have declared an Islamic "caliphate".

Apart from the port, the Libyan forces also retook residential areas in eastern Sirte, which for the past year has been the main IS base in the North African country, a spokesman for the forces, Rida Issa, told AFP.

The jihadists are now surrounded in a densely populated area of around five square kilometres (two square miles) inside Sirte where they are laying booby traps, he said.

Most of the city's residents have fled but some 30,000 remain, Issa said.

After a month-long operation to close in on Sirte, the rapid pace of the advance by forces allied to the Government of National Accord (GNA) who entered the city on Wednesday has surprised Libyan authorities

"The battle wasn't as difficult as we thought it would be," one government official said. "Maybe we exaggerated their (IS's) numbers?"

The UN envoy to Libya, Martin Kobler, said Saturday on Twitter that he was "impressed" by the "rapid progress" of pro-GNA forces.

- IS Sirte strength unclear -

But analysts have warned the city's fall would not spell the end of the jihadists in Libya, where they have fed on political and military divisions since the 2011 uprising that killed Kadhafi.

Foreign intelligence services estimate the extremist group has 5,000 fighters in the country, but its strength inside Sirte, which IS has held since June 2015, is unclear.

IS fighters tried to wrest back the port on Saturday in an attack that killed two members of the GNA forces, who repelled the assault.

A total of 137 pro-GNA forces have been killed and 500 wounded since the operation began on May 12, according to a medical official in the western city of Misrata.

Libya's unity government forces have fought fierce street battles with the jihadists around a sprawling Kadhafi-era conference centre which once hosted international summits but now houses an IS command centre.

An AFP correspondent at the scene reported heavy street fighting on Friday about two kilometres (one mile) from the Ouagadougou centre.

GNA forces used tanks, rocket launchers and artillery, the correspondent said, while the jihadists responded with machineguns, mortar rounds and sniper fire.

"We are fighting between houses, on the streets, and we won't back down before we eliminate them," said one GNA combatant, who declined to be named.

Warplanes have carried out air strikes around the conference centre and other IS positions inside the city, according to social media accounts belonging to the anti-jihadist operation.

- 'American and British advisers' -

The operations command, on its Facebook page, said jihadist positions had been targeted by 150 air strikes since mid-May.

Formed under a UN-backed power-sharing deal agreed by some Libyan lawmakers in December, the GNA has been working to assert its authority but has yet to receive the official endorsement of the country's recognised parliament.

The pro-GNA forces are mostly made up of militias from western cities, notably Misrata, and the guards of oil installations that IS has repeatedly tried to seize.

Emily Estelle, a North Africa and Middle East specialist with the Washington-based American Enterprise Institute, said an estimated 2,000 fighters, primarily well-equipped Misrata militiamen, were engaged in the Sirte operation.

The Misrata militiamen took part in the NATO-backed uprising five years ago against Kadhafi, who himself was found and killed outside Sirte.

According to Estelle, "American and British advisers on the ground are likely helping" the Misratans.

The forces allied with the GNA said on Thursday they expected to announce the liberation of Sirte in "two or three days", after thrusting into the city centre.

"We're encouraged by the progress they're making," said US special envoy Brett McGurk, whose country has said it has small teams of special forces gathering intelligence in Libya.

GNA head Fayez al-Sarraj called Friday on "all military forces to unite in the face of our common enemy... and to join the victorious forces".

But Ahmed al-Mesmari, a spokesman for forces loyal to a rival government based in the country's far east, described the GNA forces as "illegitimate militias, loyal to an illegitimate government".

 http://www.digitaljournal.com/news/world/libyan-forces-retake-port-in-jihadist-bastion-sirte-spokesman/article/467459#ixzz4BOXQxknG

Libya unity forces in street battles with IS in Sirte

09.06

HAMZA TURKIA

Forces loyal to Libya's unity government fought deadly street battles with the Islamic State group in Sirte, as they pressed an offensive to capture the jihadists' coastal bastion.

Clashes raged around the Ouagadougou conference centre, a sprawling complex that once hosted international summits in the era of ousted dictator Moamer Kadhafi which is now used as an IS command centre.

The loss of Sirte, Kadhafi's home town, would be a major blow to IS at a time when it is under mounting pressure in Syria and Iraq.

From early in the day, forces aligned with the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) pounded IS positions around the complex with heavy artillery fire.

Warplanes also carried out air strikes around the centre and other IS positions inside Sirte, according to social media accounts belonging to the anti-jihadist operation.

Two GNA fighters were killed and eight wounded and taken to a Misrata hospital, further east, the government said.

An AFP correspondent at the scene reported heavy street fighting about two kilometres (one mile) from the Ouagadougou centre.

GNA forces used tanks, rocket launchers and artillery, the correspondent said, while the jihadists responded with machineguns, mortar rounds and sniper fire.

"It was a war with planes and artillery, but now it is street fighting," said one GNA combatant, who declined to be named.

"We are fighting between houses, on the streets, and we won't back down before we eliminate them."

Power struggles have prevented Libya's fledgling government and its allies from ousting IS from its Gulf of Sidra safe-haven for a year.

The GNA, established in Tripoli more than two months ago, has been trying to unify violence-ridden Libya and exert its control over the entire North African country.

Foreign intelligence services estimate IS has 5,000 fighters in Libya, but its strength inside Sirte and the number of civilians living in the city are unclear.

- 'Crack pretty quickly'-

The GNA forces apparently pushed their way from the west into the city centre, and the AFP correspondent saw dozens of 4X4 vehicles deployed along the way.

A Libyan government official said "the battle wasn't as difficult as we thought it would be".

"Their force has dispersed," said the official. "They (Misrata forces) have taken almost all the city now."

The GNA on Thursday said it expected to announce the liberation of Sirte in "two or three days," after its forces thrust into the city centre.

"We're encouraged by the progress they're making," said US special envoy Brett McGurk.

"Once you have a credible force on the ground that moves against them, there is a chance that they could crack pretty quickly."

GNA forces launched the Sirte offensive in mid-May and have seized towns, a power plant and army barracks before Thursday's advance on the city centre.

But analysts have warned that recapturing Sirte would not end IS violence in Libya.

"What will happen to all the forces mobilised against IS?" asked Mohamed Eljarh of the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East.

"And Haftar's forces? There is a risk that they turn against each other," he said.

Controversial General Khalifa Haftar is an opponent of the GNA who heads forces loyal to a rival government.

GNA troops are mostly made up of militias from western cities, notably Misrata, and the guards of oil installations that IS has repeatedly tried to seize.

On the GNA's Facebook page, prime minister-designate Fayez al-Sarraj called Friday on "all military forces to unite in the face of our common enemy... and to join the victorious forces".

But Ahmed al-Mesmari, a spokesman for Haftar's forces, told AFP that "the groups that are fighting IS in Sirte are illegitimate militias, loyal to an illegitimate government".

Haftar's forces have reportedly stopped in villages south of Sirte and not advanced on the city.

http://www.digitaljournal.com/news/world/libyan-unity-forces-enter-is-bastion/article/467395#ixzz4BOUID9yb

U.N.-Backed Libyan Fighters Push Toward ISIS Stronghold of Surt

09.06

Libyan fighters aligned with the United Nations-backed unity government on Thursday battled their way toward the center of Surt, the Islamic State’s coastal stronghold, in a rapid offensive that has confounded expectations and upended Western strategic calculations.

Only a few months ago, American generals were touting a plan to dislodge the Islamic State from Surt with a campaign of airstrikes. Yet the three-week-old Libyan ground offensive, led by a brigade from the nearby city of Misurata, has gradually closed in from the west and south, capturing an airfield, military bases and a traffic junction where the Islamic State has hanged dozens of people.

The swiftness and extent of these successes and the seeming inability of the Islamic State to hold on to territory has surprised observers inside and outside Libya.

Clashes continued on Thursday as the Islamic State, whose force in the city is estimated to be in the low thousands, fought back with suicide bombings and sniper fire. Mohamed al-Ghassri, a spokesman for the Misuratan force, said 110 fighters from his side had been killed and more than 500 wounded since the operation started.

Western officials and analysts cautioned that the Islamic State could yet mount counterattacks or guerrilla strikes. But many were impressed with the momentum of the assault, which comes as the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, faces escalating pressure in Iraq and Syria. The assault also dealt a heavy blow to the Islamic State’s ambitions for a permanent base on the southern shores of the Mediterranean.

“The question now is whether ISIS will bunker down in the city center, or try to find a way out,” said Mattia Toaldo, a Libya analyst at the European Council on Foreign Relations.

Videos circulating online showed jubilant Libyan fighters tearing down a metal frame, called the “stage of horror,” that the Islamic State used to hang at least 49 people. Fighters flashed victory signs as they sped around the city’s outskirts, even as fighting continued. 

In Washington, American officials voiced guarded optimism.

“We welcome the advancement of G.N.A. forces against ISIL in Surt, and the coordination of the groups combating ISIL under the G.N.A.’s authority,” said Lt. Col. Michelle Baldanza, a Pentagon spokeswoman, referring to the Government of National Accord, or unity government. “We are not going to predict timelines on Libyan military operations.”

Islamic State fighters began filtering into Surt in 2014, taking advantage of the factional chaos in Libya in the years after the downfall of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi. That vacuum eventually allowed the extremist group to control 150 miles of coastline and establish pockets of territory in a number of other cities. But now it controls no more than 40 miles of coast, and has been diminished elsewhere.

A small contingent of American and British Special Operations forces are playing a background role in the assault on Surt. Mr. Ghassri, the spokesman for the Misuratan force, said that about 25 American and British soldiers were “gathering intelligence and providing logistical information” for the operation.

The clashes on Thursday were concentrated around a conference hall known as the Ougadougou Center. The Libyans’ modest fleet of warplanes bombed the hall, where fighting continued on Thursday night. Yet the main part of Surt — a knot of tightly spaced streets where the former dictator, Colonel Qaddafi, was raised and, in 2011, killed — remains in the hands of the Islamic State.

In Misurata, 110 miles to the west, hospitals said they had been overwhelmed by wounded soldiers, some of whom were flown to Italy and Turkey for treatment, Reuters reported. Suicide bombings had inflicted the heaviest casualties, in one instance killing 32 people, Mr. Ghassri said.

Earlier this year, Pentagon officials estimated the Islamic State’s strength in Libya at up to 6,500 fighters, although other Western estimates run as low as 3,000. In a report on human rights violations in Surt published last month, Human Rights Watch cited a Libyan military intelligence official who estimated 1,800 fighters inside the city, 70 percent of whom were foreigners.

Tunisians account for the majority of foreign fighters in Surt. Other recruits come from across North and West Africa, Syria and Afghanistan. The Human Rights Watch report detailed horrific scenes from everyday life, including public beheadings and floggings, that were said to have undermined support for the Islamic State among local residents.

The military assault is good news for the unity government and the United Nations, which helped establish it. But in Libya, even good news can carry potential political risks. The unity government has failed to establish its authority since its arrival in the capital, Tripoli, in March. It has relied heavily on support from the United States and its European allies, which have imposed sanctions on opposing politicians, in an effort to bolster its standing.

But some of the militias now fighting together have previously fought one another, raising fears about what would happen if they managed to capture Surt. “The key thing is what happens the minute they put their flag on ground,” said Mr. Toaldo, the analyst. “We’re talking about two forces that were fighting each other in the same area only one year ago.”

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