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By Moutaz Ahmed, Aimen Amzein and Noora Ibrahim.
Benghazi, 22 July 2014:
At least 12 people have been killed and . . .[restrict]60 injured in the Benghazi’s Buatni district in clashes which lasted over 24 hours.
A source at Benghazi Medical Centre (BMC) told the Libya Herald that six dead and ten wounded had been brought to the hospital as a result of the fighting. A total of eight dead and a staggering 50 injured were taken to Marj Hospital outside Benghazi, sources said.
Marj is acting as the operational centre for Operation Dignity forces that are fighting against Ansar Al-Sharia and its allies, and any dead and wounded being taken to the hospital there are invariably members of those forces.
Residents have said the fighting began early yesterday afternoon when brigades supporting Ansar launched a counter offensive, attacking Saiqa Special Forces 319 camp in Buatni. Ansar was able to breach the camp’s outer defences and fought their way inside, military sources said. They were repulsed, however, when Operation Dignity forces including fighter jets and one helicopter intervened.
The fighting continued into the night and ended this afternoon as the two sides fired back at one another in a deadly stalemate.
The spokesperson for Marj Hospital, Mabrouka Salah Hassan, said the hospital was struggling to deal with the massive influx of patients and added that many of those brought in were in critical condition. She said the hospital was asking all those with medical expertise in the area to lend their skills. She added that many of the patients had, had to be transferred to other hospitals for treatment.
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