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By Ajnadin Mustafa and Aimen Amzein.
Tripoli/Benghazi, 31 December 2015:
The so-called Islamic State (IS) has claimed that militants in Ajdabiya have pledged . . .[restrict]allegiance to its “caliph”, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi. It has produced a video purporting to show members of the United Ajdabiya Shoura Council (UASC) making the pledge.
The council is development from the Ajdabiya Revolutionaries’ Shoura Council and comprises the local Ansar Al-Sharia, Ajdabiya Libya Shield forces, some members of the Petroleum Facilities Guard (PFG) and individual IS supporters. Its most prominent member, Usama Jadhran, is said to have the tacit support of his brothers, Salam, the town’s mayor, and Ibrahim, who commands the locally powerful PFG.
What is not clear, however, is how many of the UASC’s members support today’s development. It is thought that a disclaimer from others will appear in the next couple of days.
The announcement follows fierce fighting which started a fortnight ago between the revolutionaries and largely Salafist “supported forces” linked to the Libyan National Army (LNA). Mayor Salem tried to end the clashes with a ceasefire brokered by prominent local fighters and tribal elders, but the LNA was not part of the deal while the militants ignored it. LNA aircraft, which had already been bombing the militants’ positions before the outbreak, continued their airstrikes. The latest one, which yesterday targeted the Man-Made River complex being used by the militants, is said to have killed one of their commanders.
Three days ago, a number of Sudanese workers, variously put at between five and 14, were killed when a LNA aircraft bombed a Sudanese restaurant in the town. Initially it was said that the attack was a mistake but LNA officials later suggested the restaurant was being used as a weapons store by militants.
The attack prompted the Justice & Construction Party to condemn the LNA, accusing it of targeting residential areas in Ajdabiya.
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