On 9 November, the LNA claimed complete control of Sidi Khribesh district of Benghazi. The LNA reportedly defeated the remnants of the jihadist coalition hiding there. On 7 November, the death of BRSC member Mohammed Bakr al-Yedri, known as ‘al-Nahla’ led to protests in Misrata.

On 5 November, the GNA- appointed Deputy Minister for Interior in Benghazi, Faraj Gaem, survived an IED assassination attempt on his motorcade and intense clashes broke out in Benghazi between the LNA and ‘remnants’ of the BRSC. In Tripoli, Rada raided a comic con event and Igtet called for the JCP to disband.

On 26 October, 36 handcuffed bodies were discovered in mass grave 50km south west of Benghazi. They seem to have been executed in the style attributed to LNA field commander Mahmoud al-Werfalli. On 26 October, Misratan security detained three alleged jihadists in Souq al-Khamis, east of Khoms. Clashes were reported in Zliten between forces said to be from Misrata and local Islamist fighters.

On 20 October, two young DMSC fighters, Salem Abdul Wahhab al-Gerbadi and Abdullah Idris al-Gabaili, were killed in clashes between the LNA and the DMSC in the Dahr al-Hamar area south of Derna. On 23 October, Rada Special Deterrent Force arrested two senior members of the DMSC, Khalid al-Hassadi and Adel al-Karghal, at a hotel in downtown Tripoli.

In the wake of the ISIS attack in Mirata earlier this month, on 11 October, clashes broke out between hard-line fighters affiliated with Islamist factions and Misratan security forces, during a security operation in al-Sakt area south of Misrata city. Thirteen people were arrested, including two senior leaders of the BDD. In Washington D.C., Ahmed Abu Khattala is currently on trial for his alleged involvement in the September 2012 attack on the US Special Mission in Benghazi that killed 4 Americans.

The Supreme Committee for Issuing Fatwas (Al-Lajna al-‘Ulya li-l-Ifta’), which is based in the eastern city Al-Bayda and is associated with Khalifa Haftar, has called for Jihad in Sabratha against “Kharijites,” a term used by Dignity Operation members to label their opponents. The announcement follows the Committee’s controversial Fatwa denouncing Ibadis earlier this summer. Following this announcement the eastern government, headed by Abdullah Al-Thanni, ordered mosques in the region to perform Qunut prayers to ask God to defeat the “Kharijites” in Sabratha.

On 28 September, the Attorney General’s Office said that the storming of the US Special Mission in Benghazi on 11 September 2012 was carried out by Ansar al-Sharia, under direct orders from AQ leader Ayman al-Zawahiri. On 2 October, the trial of Ahmed Abu Khatallah, who is accused of orchestrating the Benghazi attack, began in the US.

On 17 September, the LNA broadcast the televised ‘confessions’ of Ibrahim Muftah Abu Nuwwara, an imprisoned Ansar al-Sharia fighter from Ajdabiya, in which he confessed to ordering assassinations in Ajdabiya. This sparked reprisals with the houses of those involved, namely the Jadhran and Abu Nuwwara families, being burned down.

Islamist ‘hardliners’ such as Grand Mufti Sadeq al-Ghariani and Khalifa al-Ghwell have been quick to back Igtet over anti-GNA protests planned for 25 September, in Tripoli’s Martyrs’ Square. GNA-affiliates Haithem Tajouri and Hashem Bishr both denounced the planned demonstrations and threatened to suppress the protest.

The DMSC is experiencing significant local backlash after the alleged abduction, torture and killing of a pro- LNA Salafist resident of Derna on 4 September. On 11 September, a key figurehead of the hardliner Islamist faction, Sheikh Abdul Razzag Emshirib, was reportedly detained by Tripoli’s GNA-aligned Special Deterrence Force (Rada).

Misrata Counter Terrorism Unit arrested a senior member of the BDB, Ahmed Bakir, for alleged cooperation with ISIS and supplying foreign mercenaries to extremist groups. The CT unit also released a ‘confessions’ video of senior BRSC affiliate, Mohammed al-Khafifi, admitting membership in ISIS and claiming that his group had cooperated with the BDB in a number of suicide attacks

On 27 August, Serraj met with Sudanese president Bashir and they agreed to cooperate on security issues with a particular emphasis on fighting terrorism and border security. Misratan security forces arrested Usama Jadhran in Misrata for his alleged membership of Ansar al-Sharia and connections with ISIS.

The Justice and Construction party has turned on Tripoli’s Dar Al-Ifta head, Sheikh Sadek Ghariani after he pronounced that anyone who backed the Libyan Political Agreement (LPA) was “non-believer”. The party declared that the sheikh’s denunciation of LPA supporters was “irresponsible” and that it would engender further bloodshed. The JC insists that the PC and the LPA were the only option for Libya.

On 13 August, a delegation of Misratan power brokers and senior BM figures travelled to Qatar to meet with Qatari officials. Media reports say Qatar is prepared to support the BM’s military operations in addition to logistical support. The conflict between the LNA and DMSC deescalated slightly as the LNA eased the full siege it enacted on Derna two weeks ago, but new airstrikes on DMSC positions in the west of the city indicate a potential for re-escalation.

In late July after the DMSC downed an LNA jet over Derna and alleged killed and mutilated its pilot Adel Jehani, triggering a tightening of the LNA siege on the city. Local sources report that the LNA’s Saiqa Special Forces have reportedly moved to Derna to join the LNA in preparation for a major assault on the city in conjunction with an internal uprising, targeting key DMSC leaders and military targets.

On 26 July, Libyan National Army (LNA) Special Operations forces posted photos of a captured Ansar al-Sharia senior leader, Ibrahim Abu Nawwara. Conflict in Derna between the LNA and DMSC escalated last week following LNA airstrikes against the DMSC. On 29 July, the DMSC shot down an LNA MiG-23 fighter jet, and apprehended both the pilot and the co-pilot. The LNA announced a return to full fledged siege, and shut down all routes into Derna in reprisal. The latest escalation is reportedly the result of a tightening military and social noose around the DMSC.