During the past week, initially, the bulk of fighting occurred in the Laithi district, an area long considered an Ansar al-Shari’a stronghold. Here, Benghazi Revolutionaries Shura Council fighters (BRSC) employed armoured tanks for the first time. Heavy fighting then resumed in the port area (al-Sabri district) on Saturday 4 January. Overall, Operation Dignity continues to claim that only a few snipers and isolated BRSC fighters are left in Benghazi and that the complete liberation of the city is now imminent. This is clearly false. IS-affiliated fighters continue to carry out demonstrative retaliatory attacks on houses and belongings of families affiliated with Operation Dignity and have started distributing aid and food supplies in neighbourhoods and camps located on the outskirt of Benghazi.
Fighters from the ‘Shura Council of the Mujahideen of Derna and Surroundings’ (SCMDS) appear to have taken a more active stance vis a vis Operation Dignity and carried out attacks with grad rockets over Labraq airport, although they did not cause any significant damage. Operation Dignity air forces carried out airstrikes over Derna and particularly over the premises of the ‘Shaarika al-Jabal’ (Mountain Company) located at the western entrance of the city. See:
The ‘Shura Council of the Mujahideen of Derna and Surroundings’ (SCMDS) released a statement claiming responsibility for attacks carried out with Grad rockets over the Labraq airport currently under control of Operation Dignity forces. Operation Dignity members confirmed the attack but denied SCMDS’ claims that rockets had hit the landing strip at Labraq. It is also mentioned that Labraq airport had previously been targeted by attacks of fighters from the village of Ras al-Hilal, located west of Susah.