Some time ago the Libya city of Derna and adjacent areas were cleared of all Islamic State fighters. This was mostly the result of actions by the fighters of the Shura Council of Derna Jihadists.
The Libyan National Army (LNA) under commander in chief General Khalifa Haftar has also claimed credit for clearing the Islamic State out of the surrounding areas but it is not clear how much they helped. Even after the Islamic State had retreated Haftar's forcescontinued airstrikesagainst Derna. Haftar considers the Shura Council to be allied with Al Qaeda even though they deny any such connection. He has carried on the attacks since he consider the Shura Council to be radical Islamists and his enemy. He says the attacks are part of what he calls his Operation Volcano, part of Operation Dignity.Operation DIgnity was begun back on May 16, 2014, with attacks on Islamist militia bases in Benghazi but then involved the burning of the Libyan parliament as shown on the appended video.
Haftar considers any Islamists opposed to him as radical Islamists to be defeated, including many of the militia loyal to the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA). Haftar rejects the GNA and supports the rival Tobruk-based House of Representatives. (HoR). The HoR is required to vote confidence in the GNA according to the terms of the Libyan Political Agreement (LPA). It would then become the legislature of the GNA. However numerous meetings called to hold a vote have either been disrupted or failed to have a quorum. A meeting just last Monday lacked a quorum.
The attacks on Derna by Haftar are happening at the same time as he is supposed to be marching to liberate Sirte, as he announced some three weeks ago. However, the only forces fighting Sirte are those of the GNA in the west, mostly militia from Misrata, and in the east forces of the Petroleum Facilities Guard headed by Ibrahim Jodhran, an opponent of Haftar and supporter of the GNA government. The Islamic State territory is now just a few square kilometers in the city of Sirte. Until there were a number of civilian casualties both the GNA and Martin Kobler, Special Representative of the Secretary General(SRSG) kept quiet but now Kobler has spoken out condemning the civilian casualties. In a tweet he says: Deeply saddened to hear of civilian casualties from airstrikes #Derna, 2 women & 2 child died. Densely populated areas must not be targetedNote that he fails to condemn the airstrikes themselves. Others go much further.
Military veteran and army officers in Derna have condemned what they describe as Dignity Operation airstrikes on the city that left a number of civilians dead. Colonel Yahya Al-Osta said on Sunday that the airstrikes that killed civilians, including children were carried out by armed militias and mercenaries who have no links to the army. The planes no doubt are from the air force which is headed by an ally of Haftar. Al-Osta called Haftar a criminal and said that his militia groups are a far cry from military values and principles when they start targeting civilians and populated areas, He said: "We want police and army that protect civilians, not attacking them". Graphic photos of some of those killed can be found if you search for the hashtag #Derna on twitter.
Among those killed were a father and his son on his way to another town to cash out their salaries. In another strike a woman and her two children were killed. A tweet shows the location with no military target. Another tweet says: A kids play area in the city #Derna was attacked from LNA ..At least a kid is killed through these air attack. Another tweet reports: "Former eastern defence zone commander, Suleiman Mahmoud appeals to pilots under Hefter's command to refuse orders targeting Derna civilians." Some strikes are aimed at certain companies as shown in the damage to a Turkish company's buildings. Fortunately, much machinery is OK.
After the Islamic State retreated from the outskirts of Derna, warplanes of Khalifa Haftar's air force are still carrying out strikes on the city.
The Libya Observer reports that three have been killed and others injured as the planes hit civilian targets according to a source within the city. Two airstrikes were conducted on Saturday, one hitting a brick factory and a second the southern entrance to the city. On Friday warplanes carried out a total of eight airstrikes on different locations occupied by revolutionaries. Derna is ruled by the Shura Council of Derna Jihadists.The group is largely responsible for driving the Islamic State out of Derna although the LNA did engage against the IS before they retreated. Pro-LNA and Haftar sources, often repeated by mainstream media, attribute the success to the LNA. There is no mention of the fact that the revolutionaries drove out IS from most of the city ages ago. The problem for western media is that the Council includes members associated with Al Qaeda so they must be bad guys. However, the former rival "Salvation" government in Tripoli were allies to the Council as they were with the Council in Benghazi. Some members of the GNA have the same perspective on events. The Observer claims that this is the third time that Haftar-associated warplanes have targeted revolutionary locations since Derna was freed from IS militants.
It may be that Haftar may be intending to move his own troops into the suburbs of Derna just abandoned by the Islamic State. Consider this tweet:: "Khalifa Haftar militias give 24h to Fatayah residents in Derna to leave before destroying the region by airstrikes." Most western media are paying no attention to what is happening. All attention is on an attack by the Islamic State south of Brega.
Even Reuters manages to have a report on the attack. The attack was south of the Brega oil terminal. One guard was killed and five others injured including Ibrahim Jathran, leader of the Petroleum Facilities Guard (PFG), according to security and medical sources. The article notes that the PFG is one of the groups supporting the UN-brokered Government of National Accord (GNA). The article fails to mention that Jathran is also at odds with General Haftar who does not support the GNA as yet. Basheer Bu Thefeirah, commander of the Ajdabia border sector, said that the attackers came from both the east and the west and were attempting to storm Brega but were blocked by the PFG. Note that the Haftar's Libyan National Army and warplanes did not help against the Islamic State. They were busy attacking newly-liberated Derna.
Quite different accounts are emerging of recent fighting on the outskirts of Derna. According to the Libya Observer, fighters from the Shura Council drove the Islamic State fighters out of their base in the nearby Fatayah mountains.
Media reports claim the militants retreated under heavy fire from the fighters with many being killed. TheShura forces were hunting down any remaining Islamic State fighters in the area. The Senior commander of the Derna Shura Council forces, Mohammed Dango claimed that the entire Fatayah region was under their full control. Derna has long been under the control of the council with the Islamic State still on the outskirts and nearby mountain areas. There is no mention of the Libyan National Army (LNA) that was also attacking the Islamic State in the area.
The Libya Herald gives a quite different account. It reports that the LNA has finally cleared the Islamic State out of the Derna area. Abdulkarim Sabra, spokesperson for the LNA Operations Room covering the Derna area said the army had taken control of Derna's south eastern suburb of Fatayah or District 400 at the far east end of Derna. The area was taken after a ground and air offensive codenamed "Death Pledge."
Sabra claimed the Islamic State fighters managed to escape and had retreated on express orders of Abu Al-Baghdadi, the Islamic State caliph. He said they retreated towards Sirte in 32 vehicles. He said they had fueled up at a petrol station before destroying it. GIven that there is all this knowledge of the IS movements how is it that air action was not taken to destroy the convoy? Apparently it was left to continue to Sirte. Sabra claimed two soldiers had been killed and one injured in fighting. The Herald mentions that there have been local clashes between Derna jihadists and the IS. The Herald says that there is unofficial collaboration between the LNA and the Derna Council.
Within Derna, the Herald says anti-Haftar critics claimed that IS was forced out solely by the Council fighters, not the LNA. The Herald reports LNA helicopters were still targeting Fatayah in the afternoon and evening. Given that the area is now claimed to be controlled by the 102 brigade of the LNA it is strange that there would still be helicopter attacks. On Twitter there are numerous exchanges about what is happening with some claiming that Haftar forces are now attacking areas controlled by the Shura council. One tweet said: Col. Manfur, commander of #Benina airbase confirmed they carried the air raid on #Derna, after #ISIS was defeated.
#Libya @UNSMILibyaHere is a short sample of tweets showing the divergent views on what is happening: Mohamed Eljarh @Eljarh
@W_Lacher Without cutting supply lines, restricting movement by taking up positions around Derna,Airstrikes it would not have been possible.
Wolfram Lacher @W_Lacher 12h12 hours ago
@Eljarh "LNA" cut off supply lines to those fighting IS in Darna over the past weeks. According to army officers leading forces in Darna.
@W_Lacher @Eljarh Did you listen to Hiftar forces in Ain Marrah leaked audios threatening people of Derna? Lol what an National Army
In Derna itself, people took to the streets to celebrate the defeat of IS. The Shura Council of Revolutionaries contains groups said to have links to Al Qaeda. Those in control of Derna oppose the House of Representatives government and even more the commander in chief of the Libyan National Army, Khalifa Haftar.
A Libyan Air Force MIG-23 was shot down during an airstrike in Derna. The downing was claimed by the Al-Qaeda-linked group Ansar Al-Sharia on its Twitter account.
Ansar al-Sharia is a member of the Shura Council of Jihadists of Derna, who now control the city. They drove the Islamic State from Derna last year but are still battling against IS or Daesh in areas near the city and the adjacent mountains. Derna was bombed by unidentified aircraft on Sunday. The attacks killed civilians and damaged a medical facility. The attack was condemned by the UN and both rival governments.
The Libyan Air Force has admitted the loss of the plane but said it crashed due to a mechanical failure. The plane had just recently returned to service after a major overhaul. Spokesperson for the Air Force Abdulkareem Sabra told Reuters news agency that the plane had been attacking Islamic State positions in the town and that the pilot had survived. The Islamic State has been driven out of the city but still has positions on the outskirts. Other sources say the plane went down east of Derna in the Sidi Khaled area. After, the raids yesterday, the new raids today did not hit IS positions at all but were directed at sites occupied by the Derna Shura Council. The Libyan air force denied any responsibility for the earlier raids. The Libyan ambassador to the Arab League from the internationally-recognized House of Representatives(HoR),Ashour Burashi, said that the Sunday attacks on unarmed civilians and a hospital were a war crime.
The Libya Observer, a news source favorable to the General National Congress government in Tripoli, has a somewhat different version of events than the Libya Herald whose account I have just covered, although they agree on many points. The Observer speaks of the plane being from Khalifa Haftar's air force. However, the Libya air force is headed not by Haftar but a close ally of his. The Observer claims the plane came down 35 kilometers to the west of Derna in the Sid Khalid area whereas the Herald sources claimed Sid Khalid is to the east. The Observer names the pilot as Younis Al-Dinali, who was obviously able to eject himself from the plane before it crashed.
Muftah Hamza, commander of a group called the Al-Hilah axis, said that the MIG-23 was part of Haftar's air force and had taken off from Labraq airbase and claimed:
“The warplane was hovering above Al-Fatayeh area and then it shelled 400 neighborhood randomly, which seems to be a coverage for the UAE’s bombing that targeted civilians in Derna Sunday.”
He said the same plane had bombarded Al-Haijaj area. He said if Haftar actually wanted to target Islamic State positions he should have coordinated his attacks with his forces in Derna. Interesting that Hamza identifies the aircraft bombing Derna on Sunday as from the UAE.
GNC member, Mansour Al-Hasadi said that the air strikes on Derna on Sunday happened concurrently with a plan by fighters associated with the Derna Shura Council to attack Islamic State forces in the al-Fatayeh and neighborhood 400 areas on the east coast. However, the strikes hit civilian targets including the Kidney Disease Center of Al-Wahda Hospital. The Derna Shura Council issued a statement saying that Dignity Operation's war on the Islamic State was simply a propaganda tool. Operation Dignity is a military operation designed to rid Libya of Islamists including Libya Dawn the militia that are the main armed forces of the rival General National Congress(GNC) government. It began in May of 2014 and is still ongoing. The operation is contradictory to the aims of the Libyan Political Agreement. Haftar opposes the Shura Council of Derna group as well as the Islamic State. The Derna rulers oppose Haftar but are on good terms with the rival GNC government. The HoR does not have any control over Derna.
A member of the General National Congress, Mansour Al-Hasadi, said sources confirmed that the airstrike that targeted Derna Sunday dawn was concurrent with a plan by the backup forces of Derna Shura Council to attack and eradicate IS/Daesh militants from Al-Fatayeh and neighborhood 400 areas on the east coast. In a press release, Al-Hasadi said that the bombing caused casualties and fatalities among the local civilians, and damaged buildings including Omar Ibn Al-Khattab mosque, as well as the Kidney Disease Center of Al-Wahda hospital. He claimed.
"The unidentified airstrike coincided with a heavy fire opened by the IS militants as they endeavored to seize the opportunity and infiltrate into Bab Tobruk neighborhood and then tried to encircle the Shura revolutionaries in Al-Fatayeh axis."
Unidentified warplanes bombed the eastern city of Derna or Darnah early Sunday. The city was captured from the Islamic State last year by the Derna Shura Council fighters, driving them into the nearby mountains and outlying suburbs of the city.
Thebombings targetedShura Council locations and civilian areas. The Council confirmed two of their fighters who were besieging IS militants in the Al-Hilah district were killed. Another strike in the Bab Tobruk killed a woman and her child. A mosque and some civilian houses were also hit in the same area causing damage. As well, Derna's Kidney and Disease Center was damaged. The IS are now attempting to advance towards the city. The Shura Council has declared a state of emergency in anticipation of an IS attempt to advance into the city.
Reports of the bombings come from the Libya Observer an outlet that supports the General National Council (GNC) government in Tripoli and is very much opposed to General Khalifa Haftar, the commander-in-chief of the Libyan National Army, of the internationally-recognized House of Representatives (HoR) in Tobruk, eastern Libya. Although Derna is in eastern Libya, it is not controlled by the HoR. The Islamic State lost most of Derna last June to the Council fighters. However, there are still pockets of Islamic State fighters in nearby areas.
A recent battle involved a mountainous area overlooking the east coast known as Al-Hajjaj. IS fighters were spotted by a surveillance unit of the Council and bombarded the area with artillery fire. In another area of contention Al-Fatyeh, the Council and IS fighters were exchanging heavy gunfire but with neither side gaining significant ground. The Shura Council complained that it received no air support from the Air Force of the HoR. This is not surprising. The Derna Shura Council, while fighting the Islamic State, is itself composed of various groups of jihadists, at least one, Ansar al-Sharia, associated with Al Qaeda. The Derna Council has good relations with the GNC but is an opponent of Haftar and the HoR. It would not be too surprising if the planes that bombed Derna were associated with the Libyan Air Force allied with Khalifa Haftar. However, the fact that the Libya Observer does not claim this means that they have no idea where they were from.
Just this Wednesday, a Derna court sentenced a senior IS commander Ayman Al-Misman to death. He was captured while hiding in a house in Derna after he fled from the fighting in Al-Fatayah area where remnants of the IS fighters who used to occupy Derna are holed up. Al-Mismari had been made Wali or Governor or the Ras Al-Hilal region of eastern Libya.
Derna is known as a hot bed of jihadists. Even Gadaffi had continuing troubles trying to control the city. Here is an interesting factoid about Derna: In 2007, American troops in Iraq uncovered a list of foreign fighters for the Iraqi insurgency and of the 112 Libyans on the list, 52 had come from Derna.[35] Derna contributed more foreign fighters per capita to al-Qaeda in Iraq than any other city in the Middle East and the city has also been a major source of fighters in the Syrian Civil War and escalation of the Iraqi insurgency, with 800 fighters from Derna joining ISIL.[6]
The Tripoli-based Libyan government has carried out air strikes on the city of Sirte, which is under Islamic State control. The strikes targeted a building where IS fighters had gathered, according to Tripoli officials.
Witnesses to the attack said the bombing was accurate and wounded militants had been taken to the hospital. Officials were not able to give specific details on casualties.The Islamic State has recently expanded its control in Sirte, taking the last suburb held by Tripoli forces and also taking control of the airport. The Tripoli forces need to retake territory on the ground, but so far there is no sign of that happening.
The Islamic State appears to have lost all or almost all of its first stronghold city, Derna, recently. Forces of the Shura Council of Derna Jihadists, were attacking Islamic State fighters in the last area in the east of the city where IS fighters still held positions. The fighting has lasted more than a week and there have been many Islamic State casualties. Apparently some IS fighters have fled into the nearby mountains. The Shura Council fighters are also radical Islamists, some associated with Al Qaeda. Their retaking of Derna will not mean that the internationally-recognized Tobruk government will be able to take control even though it is an area of their jurisdiction. The group opposes the Tobruk government and their military chief, Khalifa Haftar. The Council is allied with the Tripoli government.
Mohamed Abdulkafi, a ministry of defence spokesperson for the self-described National Salvation Government said: "Warplanes of the air force of the National Salvation government conducted air strikes last night on an internal security building in Sirte.The strikes targeted a gathering of militants of Islamic State. No figures of casualties from the strikes have been reported so far."A witness said that the building bombed was the former headquarters of former leader Gadaffi's security forces in Sirte. Tripoli officials claim that many Gadaffi loyalists have joined IS in order to expand their power in spite of the fact that Gadaffi fiercely opposed Islamic militants.
The UN has been attempting to have the two rival governments in Tobruk and Tripoli agree to a unity government as a political solution to the crisis. The UN special envoy to Libya had hoped to have an agreement before Ramadan started.
