By Noora Ibrahim.
Benghazi, 9 October 2014:
Operation Dignity has claimed that yesterday evening its air forces bombed and sank a ship as . . .[restrict]it attempted to gain entry to Benghazi Port.
The Commander of Operation Dignity’s Airforce, Adam Saqr Geroushi, told the Libya Herald that aircraft under his orders had carried out the strikes on the vessel at 5:00 pm.
Geroushi said that Operation Dignity had announced repeatedly that it would bomb any ships attempting to resupply the forces of Benghazi Revolutionaries’ Shoura Council (BRSC) by sea.
The airstrikes took place roughly 50 kilometres away from the port, Geroushi said. He explained that the boat had been just off the coast of Gunfudah, and believed that the ship’s crew must have perished in the attack.
Last month Operation Dignity bombed the port itself although causing only minimal damage.
At the beginning of August Operation Dignity reiterated its warning that it would use force against any vessels entering Libyan ports without proper clearance. The announcement followed a series of skirmishes in and around the port of Benghazi which finally saw the BRSC coalition forces take control of the facility.
In June, the pro-government forces destroyed two fishing trawlers, already inside the port of Derna, as they allegedly attempted to unload weapons and ammunition.
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