By Libya Herald staff.
Tripoli, 13 February 2015:
In a recent push to take over the town of Sirte, the Islamic State (IS) . . .[restrict]has told local militias that they have until dawn on Sunday to evacuate.
The group flexed its muscles throughout the town on Thursday and Friday, closing down the passport office, bursting into clinics to segregate doctors and nurses by gender and occupying three media outlets, including Radio Sirte, the Makmadas channel and the headquarters of Al-Wataniya, witnesses and members of the press said on Friday.
From Radio Sirte, the group has been broadcasting speeches given by Sirte IS spokesman Abu Mohamed Al-Adnana calling for the people of Sirte to pledge allegiance to the Caliphate, while from the Makmadas channel, which was known for featuring traditional Libyan music by Libyan artists, one can now hear only jihadist anthems.
According to witnesses, when IS gunmen entered the passport office on Thursday, employees were ordered to leave work and “repent” in front of IS leaders, while at the clinic, doctors and nurses were ordered to designate one section of the facility for female employees and one for male.
While IS officially has thus far effectively controlled only Derna, its presence is becoming more apparent in Tripoli and Sirte. [/restrict]
