JEDDAH: A new era is dawning on the people of Benghazi, Libya’s second-largest city, after the military leader in the country’s east, Khalifa Haftar, said his National Libyan Army had fully liberated Benghazi from terrorism.
Libyan political analyst Mohammed Akila Al-Imami told Arab News: “One of the factors that helped Haftar liberate the city is the international isolation of Qatar, which forced its followers in Libya to stop their militant activity.”
He added: “The tough situation that has surrounded Benghazi for the past three years culminated on Thursday in liberating the pockets that were fortified in the areas extending from the port of Benghazi to the Zirea area that’s adjacent to the Sabri area.”
The area “extends over 20 km from northwest Benghazi toward the east, and over 5 km from the north toward the southwest,” Al-Imami said.
“This residential area was the last resort for extremists who chose to bear arms against their citizens and were linked to Al-Qaeda… They dug tunnels under the houses they occupied and placed snipers on the roofs.”
The eastern Parliament in Tobruk appointed Haftar as leader of the Libyan army after he refused to recognize the Government of National Accord in Tripoli, headed by Fayez Al-Sarraj.
Al-Imami said Haftar’s army enjoys increasing public support, and has been able to attract many volunteers and officers who graduated from the military academy.
The liberation of Benghazi has come at a high cost, with an estimated death toll of 5,200, he said, adding that the city’s people hope for a unified Libya.
Qatar isolation ‘helped Haftar liberate Benghazi’
Qatar isolation ‘helped Haftar liberate Benghazi’
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Syria accuses Hezbollah of firing shells into its territory
- “The Syrian Arab Army will not tolerate any aggression targeting Syria,” the army said in a statement to SANA
DAMASCUS: Syria said Iran-backed Hezbollah had fired artillery shells into its territory from Lebanon overnight, state media reported on Tuesday, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Lebanese Shia movement.
Syrian army officials said artillery shells fired from Lebanon landed near the town of Serghaya, west of Damascus, the state news agency SANA reported on Tuesday.
The army accused Hezbollah of targeting Syrian army positions, telling the news agency it observed Hezbollah reinforcements at the Syrian-Lebanese border.
“The Syrian Arab Army will not tolerate any aggression targeting Syria,” the army said in a statement to SANA.
Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war last week when Hezbollah attacked Israel in response to the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during US-Israeli strikes.
Hezbollah and Israeli forces have clashed in eastern Lebanon in recent days, and Israel has carried out strikes across Lebanon, including on the capital Beirut.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun accused Hezbollah of working to “collapse” the state, while the head of the group’s parliamentary bloc said it had “no other option... than the option of resistance.”
Hezbollah provided military support to former Syrian president Bashar Assad, who was overthrown in December 2024 by an Islamist coalition hostile to the pro-Iranian Shia movement.
Since then, its supply routes from Syria have been cut off, and Lebanese and Syrian authorities are trying to combat smuggling across the porous border between the two countries.
