Wednesday 24 / April / 2024
Tripoli/Berlin: Libyan forces fighting IS in its stronghold of Sirte said on Wednesday that 36 of their men had been killed and nearly 150 wounded in the previous day's clashes, one of the heaviest tolls in their month-long campaign.
IS militants had been fighting hard to defend the shrinking territory they still control in the residential centre of Sirte, said Abdalla Binrasali, a spokesman at the forces' media centre in Misrata.
"The resistance was fierce and they were firing with everything they've got, mortars, rockets and rifles," he said."They fear that if they lose more ground they will be defeated."
Brigades largely composed of fighters from Misrata launched a campaign to retake Sirte from IS last month.
They rapidly recaptured ground west of Sirte at the end of May, but their advance slowed as they closed in on the centre of the coastal city.
On Tuesday fighting escalated and the brigades said they had taken control of parts of the "700" neighbourhood, the broadcasting and electricity company headquarters and a mosque.
The "700" neighbourhood is strategically important because IS State snipers have been positioning themselves on the district's taller buildings.
The brigades based in Misrata are aligned with a UN-backed unity government that arrived in Tripoli in March.
It is seeking to replace two other rival governments that were set up in Tripoli and the east in 2014, and to unite Libya's many political and armed factions.
Meanwhile, Chancellor Angela Merkel's cabinet agreed on Wednesday to expand the role of the German navy in the Mediterranean Sea to include efforts to stop arms headed to IS militants in Libya, German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen said.
The German decision comes days after the European Union gave its naval force the authority to search suspicious vessels as part of its five-frigate "Sophia" mission, which is also seeking to break up gangs smuggling migrants to Europe.
Parliament is expected to approve the move before it adjourns for the summer at the end of June, according to government sources.
The mandate also covers work to help Libya build up a coastal patrol and navy.
"We all have an interest in creating more order along the border to Europe," von der Leyen told reporters."And it's important that the character of the mandate is being expanded to focus more on the root causes of the refugee streams."
She said the expanded EU and German missions followed a UN decision to reinforce an arms embargo on Libya, where S fighters operate."That sent a very strong signal," von der Leyen said.
Germany has thus far participated in the EU mission with a logistics ship, and about 950 German soldiers have helped rescue about 15,000 people at sea since May 2015, according to the German military.
Once approved by parliament, Wednesday's decision means German ships will be able to stop, search and seize larger vessels used by gangs transporting migrants, and also take suspects into custody, the sources said.
In cases of suspected arms smuggling, they will also be able to search ships transiting to and from Libya, they added.
Von der Leyen said there were still some legal issues to resolve regarding Germany's expanded role, but the cabinet decision and expected parliamentary approval would allow the German military to begin detailed planning for the bigger role.
