Libyan pro-government forces walk next to their vehicle mounted with a machine gun on May 18, 2016 in Abu Grein, south of Libya's third city Misrata, a day after Libya's unity government recaptured the area from the Islamic State (IS) group. four of the Bodies of The organization of the Islamic State (Daash) in a truck in Abu Qurayn About 300 km east of the Libyan capital Tripoli , on May 18, 2016. The UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) forces said on Facebook that they recaptured Abu Grein strategic crossroads, where the coastal highway meets the main road south into the desert interior on May 17, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / MAHMUD TURKIA

BEIRUT, LEBANON (12:45 P.M.) – The Turkish-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) forces launched a new offensive in western Tripoli on Monday, targeting the key city of Surman.

According to reports from northwestern Libya, the GNA forces began the offensive on Monday by storming the Libyan National Army’s (LNA) positions east of Surman, prompting a fierce firefight to breakout between the two rival parties.

Some early reports say the GNA has entered Surman and has captured some neighborhoods; however, other reports claim that the fighting is still at the eastern outskirts of the city.

The GNA is attempting to reclaim several areas in northwestern Libya after losing them during the Libyan National Army’s large-scale offensive at the end of the year.

Surman is incredibly important to the GNA forces because of it proximity to both Tripoli, Libya’s capital, and the Tunisian border.

Share this article:
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  • 1
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
    1
    Share
ALSO READ  Turkish-backed Libyan forces allegedly capture Russian-made helicopter: photos

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

Notice: All comments represent the view of the commenter and not necessarily the views of AMN.

All comments that are not spam or wholly inappropriate are approved, we do not sort out opinions or points of view that are different from ours.

Be Civil

This is a Civilized Place for Public Discussion

Please treat this discussion with the same respect you would a public park. We, too, are a shared community resource — a place to share skills, knowledge and interests through ongoing conversation.

These are not hard and fast rules, merely guidelines to aid the human judgment of our community and keep this a clean and well-lighted place for civilized public discourse.

Make it better

Improve the Discussion

Help us make this a great place for discussion by always working to improve the discussion in some way, however small. If you are not sure your post adds to the conversation, think over what you want to say and try again later.

The topics discussed here matter to us, and we want you to act as if they matter to you, too. Be respectful of the topics and the people discussing them, even if you disagree with some of what is being said.

Now the hard part!

Be Agreeable, Even When You Disagree

You may wish to respond to something by disagreeing with it. That’s fine. But remember to criticize ideas, not people. Please avoid:

  • Name-calling
  • Ad hominem attacks
  • Responding to a post’s tone instead of its actual content
  • Knee-jerk contradiction

Instead, provide reasoned counter-arguments that improve the conversation.