Libyan forces claim control of long-besieged Benghazi district

Record ID: 165611

  • Title: Libyan forces claim control of long-besieged Benghazi district
  • Date: 25th January 2017
  • Summary: BENGHAZI, LIBYA (JANUARY 25, 2017) (REUTERS) TANKS ROLLING IN GANFOUDA NEIGHBOURHOOD (AUDIO OF SHOTS FIRED) EAST LIBYA TROOPS ON ROAD TANK FIRING TANK ROLLING TANK TURNING QUICKLY WOUNDED SOLDIER HELPED TO WALK AMBULANCE PASSING SOLDIERS FIRING WEAPONS IN CELEBRATION VARIOUS SOLDIERS CELEBRATING, STANDING ON ROOF SOLDIERS GATHERED (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) LIBYA NATIONAL ARMY (LNA) SPOKESMAN, AHMED AL-MISMARI, SAYING: "We are announcing the liberation of the Ganfouda area from terrorist control and we are congratulating all Libyans for this victory." VARIOUS OF SOLDIERS CELEBRATING ON ROOF OF JEEPS SOLDIERS FIRING WEAPONS IN AIR AUDIO GUNFIRE OVER GANFOUDA AREA
  • Embargoed: 8th February 2017 19:18
  • Keywords: East Libyan forces Benghazi Ganfouda LNA
  • Location: BENGHAZI, LIBYA
  • City: BENGHAZI, LIBYA
  • Country: Libya
  • Topics: Asylum/Immigration/Refugees,Government/Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA00160KYYPZ
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: East Libyan forces said on Wednesday (January 25) they had taken complete control of a long contested district in Benghazi after dozens of families and captives trapped by fighting left the area.
    If confirmed, the capture of Ganfouda district would mark a major gain for the Libyan National Army (LNA) as it seeks to finish a military campaign against Islamist-led opponents that it has been waging for more than two years.
    "We are announcing the liberation of the Ganfouda area from terrorist control and we are congratulating all Libyans for this victory," LNA spokesman Ahmed al-Mismari told a crowd in Benghazi.
    He added however that the army was yet to secure a separate area known as the "12 Blocks" which lies between Ganfouda and Bosnaib, another neighbourhood recently taken by the LNA.
    A spokesman for the LNA's Zawiya Martyrs' brigade, Wahid al-Zawi, said 62 captives had been freed from Ganfouda, as well as 30 families and 46 foreign workers.
    The fate of civilians trapped in Ganfouda had been a major point of contention, with the United Nations and international human rights groups calling for them to be granted safe passage amid allegations of human rights abuses by both sides.
    Some 30 LNA troops were killed and 25 wounded during the past two days of fighting in Ganfouda, a medical source said.
    Benghazi has seen some of the worst violence in the conflict in Libya following the country's 2011 uprising. LNA commander Khalifa Haftar launched his Operation Dignity campaign against Islamists and other opponents in the city in May 2014.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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