By Noora Ibrahim.
Benghazi, 7 August 2014:
Operation Dignity has confirmed its support for the House of Representatives which met for . . .[restrict]the first time in Tobruk on Monday.
Air Force Brigadier-General Saqr Adam Geroushi, the commander of Operation Dignity’s air forces, told the Libya Herald that, as civilians, Dignity members backed the new parliament and that “as soldiers it is our duty to protect it”. He explained that a number of Operation Dignity’s fighter jets were stationed in Tobruk.
Portions of the Air Force based in Tobruk were among some of the first groups to join Operation Dignity when the movement headed by General Khalifa Hafter began gaining ground in May.
In Benghazi, the principle battle-ground between Operation Dignity and the Islamist and Islamist-leaning forces ranged against it, bombing resumed in the district of Gwarsha yesterday after the relative quiet of the past five days.
Residents said bombing and the sound of returning anti-aircraft fire could be heard in the area for the first time since Benghazi’s Saiqa Special Forces Brigade was forced to abandon its headquarters in Buatni after days of intensive missile strikes by Ansar Al-Sharia and its allies.
Some shops have reopened in the city for the first time in weeks although banks, government services and Benghazi University remain closed. University management and members of the Students’ Union had agreed last month to resume classes on 2 August. However, most faculties subsequently instructed their students not to return over safety fears. Many of the University’s buildings, particularly those which lie close to 17 February Brigade’s camp which has been extensively bombed, have been damaged and not yet repaired.
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