On 25 December, the head of Misrata’s Military Council (MMC), the main umbrella organisation for Misrata’s participation in the al-Bunyan al-Marsus (BM) coalition, visited the Benghazi Defence Brigades’ (BDB) in their base in Hun, a town around 300km south of Sirte near Waddan in the Jufrah region. On 26 December, LNA air force jets bombed BDB targets in Hun. News reports indicate that a brigade affiliated with BM incurred losses during the airstrike. It appears some senior commanders of the Misratan-led BM coalition, which fought and defeated ISIS in Sirte in early December, are now joining forces with hard-line militias who pledge loyalty to the Grand Mufti Sadeq al-Ghariyani. The head of Misrata’s defence zone, affiliated with the GNA’s Ministry of Defence and BM, condemned the attack on 26 December and reiterated calls for Haftar’s exclusion from the political peace process.
Last week, the Libyan National Army (LNA) re-initiated aerial strikes against the Benghazi Revolutionary Shura Council (BRSC) and ISIS fighters in central Benghazi and in areas near the port. Both the BRSC and ISIS published photographs on their social media of their fighters battling with the LNA. On 22 and 23 December, intensive fighting took place between the LNA and the jihadist militants in Sabri and Souq al-Hout, central Benghazi areas adjacent to the port. On 21 December, sources close to the LNA reported that a livestock vessel which had previously been docked in Misrata was seized by the LNA near the waters of Ganfuda.