By Jamie Prentis.
Tunis, 29 April 2017:
The Libyan National Army (LNA) resumed airstrikes yesterday on Tamenhint and Jufra airbases. However, casualties – if any – are currently unknown, as is damage to the two places.
Both bases are held by Misrata’s Third Force – Tamenhint in alliance with members of the local Hasawna tribe. The Benghazi Defence Brigades (BDB) were present in Jufra until earlier this month, but then pulled out.
At Tamenhint, there was a ceasefire between LNA forces, led by General Mohamed Ben Nayel and his 12th Brigade, and the Third Force. This has effectively dissolved, although the effectiveness of the general’s troops in trying to capture the bas has been distinctly muted. The same has be so in regard to airstrikes against it.
Meanwhile, a new but uneasy truce has begun between the rival Tebu and Awlad Sulaiman communities in Sebha. Four days ago, there were clashes between the two communities in central Sebha following the Tebu confiscation of an Awlad Sulaiman gas truck. Both sides have now withdrawn to the original checkpoints they held, with the Tebu moving south of Sebha airport.
