by Jason | Aug 22, 2016 | ISIS
The Bunyan Marsus coalition continued its steady advance deep into the center of Sirte, taking major residential areas throughout the week with the help of US airstrikes. ISIS militants still fighting in these areas continue to show fierce resistance using snipers,...
by Jason | Aug 22, 2016 | Libyan actors
On 19 August, Government of National Accord (GNA) Prime Minister Fayez Serraj held meetings in Tunis with the deputy presidents of the House of Representatives (HoR) to discuss the split within the Presidential Council, and how to reorganize the GNA to enable its...
by Jason | Aug 22, 2016 | Other Jihadi Actors
Conflict continues in eastern Libya between the Libyan National Army (LNA) and the coalition of jihadists in Benghazi. The LNA made gains in Gwarsha and Ganfuda this week, despite suffering more heavy losses from mortar fire and IED’s on 16 and 19 August. On 20...
by Jason | Aug 22, 2016 | International actors
As of 22 August, US Africa Command press statements say that the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit has conducted 77 airstrikes in Sirte under Operation Odyssey Lightning. Additional reporting by the Washington Post indicates the US has begun utilizing the AH-1 Cobra...
by Jason | Aug 15, 2016 | ISIS
The Misratan-led Bunyan Marsus coalition made great gains against ISIS in Sirte, pushing ISIS out of its stronghold in Ouagadougu Centre, Ibn Sina Hospital and Sirte University on 11 August. All three buildings were bastions of ISIS rule in the city, and the group’s...
by Jason | Aug 15, 2016 | Libyan actors
New political wrangling within the GNA is widening rifts even further. On 10 August, the Presidential Council issued a statement threatening to nominate replacement candidates if two of its boycotting members, Ali Al Gatrani and Omar Laswad, did not rejoin within one...
by Jason | Aug 15, 2016 | Other Jihadi Actors
In Tripoli, local pro-GNA militias are recoiling at the perceived rise in Islamist and Misratan power. This tension signals imminent conflict in the capital, and potentially the collapse of the GNA’s political arrangements in western Libya. On 14 August, posters...
by Jason | Aug 15, 2016 | International actors
The Washington Post reported that US Special Operations forces are providing direct, on-the-ground support for Bunyan Marsus fighters battling the ISIS in Sirte. The US troops were tasked with coordinating American airstrikes and providing intelligence as the...
by Jason | Aug 9, 2016 | ISIS
Two major pronouncements were made this week. 1. Misratan forces continued their protracted advance into Sirte as battles supposedly moved into what Banyan Marsus is calling their ‘final stages’. 2. Simultaneously as the fight against ISIS has become less popular for...
by Jason | Aug 9, 2016 | International actors
The US airstrikes are further polarizing opinion on the ground in Libya and are making strange bedfellows between the Islamists and Haftar who both oppose the airstrikes. It is also being reported that Italy is now offering support to the US operations. Although the...
