By Sami Zaptia.
London, 14 May 2019:
Forces aligned to the internationally recognized Faiez Serraj Presidency Council and Government of National Accord claim that they are repelling Hafter’s forces in the Tripoli fighting.
In a statement issued yesterday by the Serraj aligned Libyan Army, Official Spokesperson Mohamed Gnunu said that forty days after the’’ failed coup attempt’’, the Serraj-aligned Libyan Army continues to ‘‘repel and drain the criminal militias’’ on the outskirts of Tripoli, in preparation for the days of ‘‘decisiveness to cleanse the country and the people from the evil of these rebels’’.
On the battlefield, Gnunu said that in the past two days in the axis Twisha axis they thwarted an attempt by the ‘‘militias of the war criminal Haftar to infiltrate’’ their lines. He said that the infiltration attempt was reinforced with ‘‘Emirati Tiger armoured vehicles and tanks accompanied by air support’’, but they were forced to retreat in defeat after the destruction of a number of their mechanisms.
Gnunu claimed that the Serraj aligned forces progressed yesterday on three axes to sweep the rebel-infiltrated areas around Tripoli Airport on the Salah al-Deen axis, and managed to hunt several Emirati armoured vehicles, tanks and other military vehicles.
He also claimed that the Serraj-aligned Libyan Air Force carried out seven air raids yesterday on the positions of the ‘‘war-criminal Hafter’s militia’’, some of which targeted Grad vehicles and heavy artillery.
For their part, Gnunu added, ‘‘air forces allied with the criminal militias’’ (implying Emirati or Egyptian) continue to bombard civilian sites targeting infrastructure facilities in Janzur, Zawia and Tajura, resulting in civilian casualties, including children and women.
In addition to resisting the ‘‘criminal militias of the war criminal Haftar’’ in the suburbs of Tripoli, the Serraj-aligned Anti-Terror forces continue their patrols inside and outside cities to monitor any movements of remnants of terrorist organizations and their cells.
For their part, the Khalifa Hafter Libyan National Army (LNA) and their aligned forces claimed today that they had shot down a fighter jet belonging to the pro-Serraj Air Force in the central Libya Jufra area that had taken off from the Misrata Flight Academy.
Meanwhile, Libyan National Army (LNA) Official Spokesperson, Brig. Gen. Ahmed al-Mismari claimed on Sunday that after the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord lost many of its warplanes, it has now began using Turkish drones to target LNA forces.
He claimed that his LNA forces were ‘‘approaching the Tripoli surroundings’’ and that the ‘‘Terrorist militias began to disappear after targeting their commanders in Tripoli’’.
