BENGHAZI/ANKARA: Forces of Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar on Monday said they had taken control of the coastal city of Sirte from factions loyal to the Tripoli government.

Sirte, some 450 kilometres east of the capital Tripoli, had been held by forces allied with the UN-recognised Gover­nment of National Accord (GNA) since 2016.

But on Monday, a spokesman for the rival faction, Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA), said the city had fallen to his fighters.

“Sirte has been totally liberated... from terrorist groups,” Ahmad al-Mesmari, spokesman for Haftar’s forces, said on television following an operation that lasted just hours.

Haftar’s LNA earlier on Monday said on social media they were “steadily advancing towards the heart of Sirte” after seizing control of Ghardabiya airport on the city’s outskirts.

The statement said the operation aimed to “purge Sirte of armed militias”.

The airport, located in an airforce base, fell into LNA hands after “forces tasked with protecting it surrendered completely with their equipment” to Haftar’s self-styled army, the statement added.

“Clashes are underway” in the southern part of Sirte and in its coastal area, the statement said, adding that some enemy fighters had fled while others were captured by the advancing LNA forces.

Forces loyal to the UN-recognised GNA confirmed they had come under attack in Sirte.

“We are dealing with Haftar’s terrorist militias,” they said in a statement on Facebook, adding that “mercenaries” from Chad were fighting alongside Haftar’s forces.

The UN-recognised government has recently sought help from its ally Turkey.

Last week the Turkish parliament passed a bill approving a military deployment to Libya to shore up the GNA.

Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj’s Government of National Accord asked for Turkish support last month as it fends off an offensive by forces led by Khalifa Haftar.

Published in Dawn, January 7th, 2020