Libyan security forces have been informed that the Islamic State (IS) still has a foothold in southern Sirte, and some of its members are planning to head to eastern Libya, according to spokesman for Sirte’s Demining Brigade Salem al-Emil.
Emil told pan-Arab daily newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat that although Sirte, located between Tripoli in the northwestern Libya and Benghazi in northeast, was liberated from IS in 2016, some of its militias still exist in the south of the city.
He said IS slogans are still found on the walls of houses and shops, stirring up anger among the residents of Sirte, which was once of IS’s hotbeds.
Sirte Protection Force cooperated with Sirte’s Municipal Guards to launch security campaigns in the city to remove IS slogans from buildings, spokesman of Sirte’s Demining Brigade said in the interview.
In late 2016, IS militants were largely forced out of Sirte by the Government of National Accord forces (GNA) in the cooperation with the U.S.
The GNA requested air-strike support from the U.S., which officially joined the battle on Aug. 1, 2016. These attacks continued until the end of 2016, and by Dec. 6, 2016, IS was finally defeated at Sirte.
The war has left buildings in ruins across the city, and many citizens live in destroyed houses.
Soleiman al-Ruwaidi, a resident of Sirte, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the GNA vowed to reconstruct Sirte’s buildings; however, no action has been taken to compensate the citizens thus far.
Previously, the Presidency Council’s statement during Sirte’s second liberation anniversary from IS on Dec. 17, 2018 expressed fears that the fight against terrorism in Libya, might not be over yet.
“Liberation of Sirte has not completely combated the terrorist organizations in Libya’s cities, as some of the militants seek to regroup themselves at other places, and they have some hotbeds, from which they carry out their criminal acts,” the statement said.
The Presidency Council added that military institutions should be unified “under one executive authority” to uproot terrorists from Libya. The Libyan National Army, largely based in the east under the command of strongman Khalifa Haftar, is independent from the GNA.
