Action – 7 December 2014

Dec 7, 2014 | ISIS

Sirte continues to be the object of a struggle between Misrata-aligned forces and radical Islamist groups aligned with Ansar al-Shari’a. In this sense, the city is a good example of how national-level alliances have been shaped by convenience and should be considered highly unstable and prone to sudden shifts and fractures. That Misratans and Ansar are able to fight in Sirte shows that their larger coalition throughout the country could also fall apart.

Derna continues to be a hotbed of radical Islamist militias. The city is increasingly described by observers as effectively detached from Libya and is likely to remain inaccessible to outsiders in the long term.

Article discussing aerial operations conducted by Haftar’s forces during the past week indicates that military positions, allegedly belonging to radical Islamist group, have been attacked by Haftar’s airforce as late as Wednesday 3 December.

Article reporting about a recent trip to Derna made by a journalist of the Libya Herald. The journalist describes a situation for which Derna appears to be a city now effectively detached from Libya and situated in a limbo. The reports indicate that Operation Dignity forces are trying to cordon the city off completely in an effort to monitor flows of people and goods to the town as well as to possibly prepare their attack on the city. See:

Article discussing the current political and security scenario in Derna where different groups vie for power employing similar legitimising discourses underpinned by Salafi Jihadi frames and rhetoric. According to this report, infighting between hardline Islamist groups appears to have subsumed as of recently.