The commander of the Libyan eastern-based army announced the beginning of the second phase of the battle to liberate the eastern city of Darna, after the army stormed the city center, like reported by xinhuanet.com.
“To our soldiers fighting in all axes of Darna, we salute you for your patience and steadfastness. You are fighting fierce battles under difficult circumstances to clear Darna of terrorism,” said Gen. Khalifa Haftar.
“The victory and liberation of Darna from terrorism is near,” he said.
On the details of the second phase, Haftar warned his forces of “booby traps, mines, agents and snipers,” as well as “any suspicious movement” in Darna.
“Any source of threat from the enemy and sleeping cells should be dealt with immediately, and the armed forces must interfere as soon as any signs of terrorism appear,” he said.
The army forces made great progress on Monday in fierce battles, advancing to the city center of Darna after forcing the terrorist groups to retreat and lose almost half of the city.
Since 2015, Darna has been besieged by the army, which demanded the armed group of the Shura Council of Mujahideen of Darna leave the city, accusing it of being loyal to al-Qaida.
More than 30 soldiers have since been killed and over 40 others wounded, according to medical and military sources.
The UN Support Mission in Libya recently said at least 17 civilians were killed and 22 others wounded in Darna over the past two weeks, as a result of the fighting between the army and militants.
