South Front: Misrata Brigades battle ISIS for control over Sirte, Libya

South Front
Fri, 08 Jul 2016 11:45 UTC

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ISIS taking over Sirte, Libya

The Government of National Accord-aligned forces from Misrata have been conducting a military operation in the ISIS Libyan stronghold of Sirte. Misrata Brigades have pushed ISIS militants from the city's nearby areas, however, they have faced complexities after entering the city.

The ISIS terrorist group set fortifications in the populated areas and mined the main roads, heading to the city center. Misrata forces can not use their advantage in military equipment and air power in urban areas while a lack of forward air controllers further reduces the effectiveness of air strikes. These factors have slowed down the advance, significantly.

Misrata sources say that some 5000 ISIS militants defend Sirte while experts believes that the ISIS terrorist group has only about 2500 fighters in the city. Many of them have no battle expirience. In the modern situation,it's clear that Sirte will be seized by Misrata Brigades earlier or later.

While Misrata Brigades hold the areas south to the ISIS-controlled Sirte, the Petroleum Facilities Guard (PCG), controlled by Ibrahim Jathran, control the areas at the eastern flank of the city. ISIS militants could retreat from the city to the south. In this case, they will pose a threat to oil infrastructure in the southern parts of Libya. It's hard to expect that Misrata Brigades or PCG will follow up the ISIS force. These groups are interested to show a control of Sirte amid the ongoing standoff for the power in the country.

However, Western experts believe that ISIS won't be able to deal a significant damage to the oil infrastructure in southern Libya:

• The group doesn't have enough manpower for this;
• This will conduct a stiff asnwer from the local clans, interested in the oil buisiness, that will worsen ISIS chances to survive in the North African country;

However, the group could use the areas in southern Libya for cross-border attacks against other African countries.

Comment: The Misrata Brigrades, with their origins in NATO's genocidal conquest of Libya, have themselves been accused of ethnic cleansing in the city of Tawergha:

British journalist Andrew Gilligan visited Tawergha in September 2011 and found it virtually emptied of its inhabitants, who numbered around 30,000 before the war. He reported that the Misrata Brigade, a semi-autonomous unit of the anti-Gaddafi National Liberation Army, had engaged in a campaign of ethnic cleansing in response to the town's alleged support of Gaddafi during the siege on their city. Many slogans he saw painted in and around Tawergha, as well as the accounts of anti-Gaddafi fighters and commanders whom he quoted, made reference to the dark pigmentation of many Tawergha citizens, with one sign referring to the Misrata Brigade as "the brigade for purging slaves [and] black skin".

Further reading:

• Chilcot: Confirmation Iraq war created ISIS

• ISIS seeks to control key trade routes for oil to Europe