The Libyan National Army (LNA) has been in fierce battles against armed groups in Sabha as part of its operation to eliminate them from the south, LNA spokesperson Ahmed al-Mismari said Tuesday.
Mismari added that after uprooting terrorist groups in Sabha, the army will head further south to secure the borders shared with Chad, Sudan and Niger and to hold talks with army officials of said countries.
This comes three weeks after the LNA declared it “eliminated terrorist footholds” in Sabha, Ubari and Ghat.
During the operation, launched 14 January, Al-Qaeda leader in Libya, known as Abu al-Zubair al-Libi, was killed in a raid in Hijara, a neighborhood in Sabha. It also gained control on strategic locations in Sabha, including Sabha International Airport and some military camps formerly seized by armed groups.
Then, the army headed to Marzuq town, killing Sunday two “terrorists,” arresting four others and chasing more gunmen in several places in the south, including Umm al-Arnab and al-Baydan al-Humayrah, Masquin and al-Badr Plateau.
