By Adjnadin Mustafa.
Tripoli, 13 October 2014:
There are reports tonight of heavy fighting near Ghariyan between Zintani and Libya Dawn forces. No . . .[restrict]estimate of casualties has yet been given. On Sunday it is possible that some 50 people were killed and dozens wounded in battles which the Zintanis claimed won them Aziziya and allowed them to surround Ghariyan.
Ghariyan hospital said that it had received 23 bodies while a Zintani commander claimed that his men had also counted 23 dead Dawn fighters in territory they had gained.
Reliable sources say that this morning militiamen from Misrata were sent to reinforce Dawn forces in the mountains.
Sifting between claims and counter-claims from rival commanders is a challenge. Today Zintan has denied that it has lost control of Al-Rabta, which it had taken on Saturday and that it has been forced out of Aziziya. However a promise that by today, Zintani militiamen would have driven Libya Shied forces and Zawia’s Abu Obeida brigade out of Zahra does not appear to have been fulfilled. Meanwhile, this evening there were claims that Dawn militias had retaken Kikla.
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