While the Ajdabiya Revolutionaries’ Shoura Council (ARASC) has engaged in kidnapping activities against LNA loyalists and is known for its hostility towards Haftar, it also controls a sizeable territory, securing the 18km checkpoint south of Ajdabiya on the desert roads between cities and oil fields. The presence of the ARASC in the context of a new uprising in Ajdabiya enhances the threat against ports and facilities, not only from IS attack.
Although the LNA’s recent push into Buatni and Hawari gained a few hundred meters, the areas are mainly open spaces and the measured response from Ansar Al Sharia limited their gains. The anti-LNA Islamist forces’ advances in sophistication indicate that they will pose more of a threat as they gain experience and conditioning from fighting.