Libyan forces launched an attack against extremists in Benghazi

Libyan military leader Fadl Al Hassi revealed that the Libyan armed forces launched an artillery attack against the strongholds of extremists Sabri district of Benghazi, saying that the attack comes to prepare for a military operation scheduled to be conducted during the coming hours to eliminate the extremist elements.

In a sign that the army seems confident that it has broken the back of Islamic militant resistance  in Ganfouda, Saiqa Special Forces commander Wanis Bukhamada has been given the job of retaking Benghazi’s Sabri and Suq Al-Hout areas.

Bukhamada, whose men last week overran the Gwarsha Gate, for years the symbol of the Ansar Al-Sharia terrorist presence in the city, has not yet commented on his new objective. However, artillery fire today appeared to be softening up the area which has many narrow alleys and a series of high buildings from the tops of which snipers have been operating. It is also believed that the neighbourhood is extensively booby-trapped and internal connecting passages have been knocked through many buildings.

Although the army retook the port last year the adjacent Suq Al-Hout and Sabri areas have remained in terrorist hands.  Reinforcements and supplies have in the past managed to get through to the Sabri beach. In addition local fishermen have continued to catch fish either from the shoreline with nets or lines or in small boats. A photo published recently on a BRSC website claimed to show how well the “besieged” fighters in Sabri were living, with fresh fish and a pasta dish as well as fizzy drinks.

However the maritime lifeline for Ganfouda and Sabri/Suq Al-Hout= may now be interdicted. The army claims that naval patrol boats intercepted a supply run early this morning some 35 kilometres off the Benghazi coast. Reports vary, but two boats, one of them apparently carrying fuel, may have been sunk in the engagement.  No photographs of the action have been issued, the armed forces merely putting out a file photo of a heavy machine gun being fired from a patrol vessel.

This loss comes on top of the October sinking of two vessels which the Benghazi Revolutionaries’ Shoura Council admitted belonged to them, when they were tied up at the quay of Misrata’s Libyan Iron and Steel Company works. This was the second such sinking at that quay.

On political side, Fast on the heals of this week’s ice-breaking Faiez Serraj-Khalifa Hafter meeting in Abu Dhabi, UN envoy Martin Kobler had a “constructive meeting” with House of Representatives (HoR) head Ageela Saleh today in the latter’s home town of Guba, 200 kilometres west of Tobruk.

It is the fourth meeting between the two since Kobler was shunned by Ageela Saleh in January and his plane prevented from landing in Tobruk. “Good discussion on way forward for the political processes,” Kobler tweeted after today’s meeting, indicating that outcomes of the Abu Dhabi encounter took centre stage in their meeting.

The HoR revealed little else either, other than that the two discussed the latest Libyan political developments and how to make the UN-sponsored Libya Dialogue a success.

In the same context, Algeria on Sunday reiterated the commitment of Libya's neighboring nations to continue their efforts in a bid to help warring parties in Libya to restore peace and reach national reconciliation.

"The political agreement reached in 2015 between Libyan warring parties in Morocco should be the corner stone for sustainable resolution to the Libyan crisis," Algerian Minister for Maghreb Affairs, Arab League and African Union, Abdelkader Messahel, told reporters after his talks with Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya Martin Kobler, On the eve of the 11th ministerial meeting of Libya's neighboring countries due on Monday in Algiers.

"Libya's neighboring nations are committed to help Libyans to reach final solution to their crisis, and this commitment should not be seen as interference in Libya's affairs," Messahel noted.

For his part, Kobler stressed "the key role of Libya's neighboring nations in restoring peace and security to this North African country. He noted "that the 11th ministerial meeting of Libya's neighboring countries is a great opportunity to boost peace process there."

The UN official further added that the international community has to make more efforts to help Libyans regain peace and stability, stressing "Libyans themselves have been requiring support for the settlement of their crisis."

Algiers on Monday hosts a meeting of Libya's neighboring nations, to assess developments and discuss the peace process there.

The neighboring nations of Libya are Tunisia, Algeria, Niger, Chad, Sudan and Egypt.

Libyan protagonists reached a shaky peace accord following UN-sponsored talks held in the Moroccan resort of Skhirat on Dec. 2015, in an attempt to put an end to more than six years of civil war.

A national unity government and a cabinet were established led by Prime Minister Fayez al-Seraj, whose top mission is to unite Libya's two warring parliaments.

Libya now has two rival parliaments, namely the internationally recognized one, based in the eastern port city of Tobruk, and the General National Congress based in capital city Tripoli supported by General Haftar.