By Jamal Adel.
Tripoli, 29 January 2014:
Tamenhint airbase, northeast of was recaptured this morning from pro-Qaddafi supporters, after heavy overnight fighting. The . . .[restrict]base had been held by the Qaddafi forces since 20 January.
Sebha military commander Mohammed Alayat Al-Busaify told the Libya Herald that the army troops and revolutionaries, most of them from Misrata, had managed to take a control of the airbase early this morning and were now moving towards Sebha. A number of Qaddafi loyalists had been captured and the rest fled to Brak Al-Shatti, he added. Local reports put the number of captured at 18.
Fighting also took place last night in Sebha itself, according to the head of Sebha Local Council, Ayoub Alzaroug. The town’s iconic castle, in the hands of the army’s 6th Brigade, was reportedly shelled by Qaddafi supporters. However, Alzaroug said he had no information about how serious the damage was. It has already been seriously damaged in the clashes in the town during the past month.
The situation inside Sebha today remained tense and restless, he told this paper. People were awaiting the arrival of the Misratan-led forces.
Local journalist Shaima Massoud said that Sebha revolutionary were planning to join up with the Misratan forces in the town’s Independence Square and would then initiate a dragnet operation to flush out Qaddafi supporters. [/restrict]
