BENGHAZI: Forces loyal to eastern Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar have been ordered to move to western Libya to fight militants, their media office said on Wednesday.
The deployment is likely to alarm the internationally recognized government in Tripoli, whose Prime Minister Fayez Al-Serraj has been negotiating over a power-sharing deal with a parallel administration in the east that is allied to Haftar.
A video released by the Libyan National Army (LNA) media offfice showed a convoy of armored vehicles and pickup trucks mounted with heavy guns on the road.
“In fulfilment of his (Haftar) orders, several military units moved to the western region to purge the remaining terrorist groups located in their last hideouts,” the LNA said in a statement with the video.
It gave no details but the area appears to be the coastal road linking the eastern city of Benghazi, the LNA main base, with Tripoli in western Libya.
A resident in Ras Lanuf, an oil town located on the coastal road, said tanks and military convoys were seen heading westwards in the direction of Sirte.
Sirte is in central Libya controlled by a force from the western city of Mistrata allied to the Tripoli administration.
In January, the LNA, which is loyal to Haftar, started a campaign to take control of the south and its oilfields.
The United Nations is holding a conference this month in the southwestern city of Ghadames to discuss a political solution to prepare the country for elections and to avoid a military showdown.
Eastern Libyan forces ordered to move west to fight militants
Eastern Libyan forces ordered to move west to fight militants
- A video released by the LNA showed a convoy of armored vehicles and pickup trucks mounted with heavy guns on the road
Gaza civil defense says Israeli strikes kill at least 5
- Gaza’s health ministry has previously said at least 601 people had been killed since the truce began
GAZA CITY: Gaza’s civil defense ministry said Israeli strikes killed at least five people on Friday.
Violence has continued in the Palestinian territory despite a US-brokered truce that entered its second phase last month, with Israel and Hamas trading accusations of violating the agreement.
The civil defense agency, which operates as a rescue force under Hamas authorities, told AFP that an air strike in the early hours of Friday morning killed at least two people and seriously injured one in central Gaza.
A drone strike in the south of the strip shortly after midnight killed three and injured several more people, the agency added.
Under the terms of the ceasefire, which took effect on October 10, Israeli troops withdrew to positions behind a so-called “Yellow Line,” though they remain in control of more than half of the territory.
Gaza’s health ministry, which operates under Hamas authorities, has previously said at least 601 people had been killed since the truce began.
The Israeli military says at least four of its soldiers have been killed in the same period.
Media restrictions and limited access in Gaza have prevented AFP from independently verifying casualty figures or freely covering the fighting.
