On 28 June, airstrikes targeting Benghazi Defence Brigade (BDB) and IS locations were reported near Bani Walid. At the time of writing it is unclear if it was either of the two groups or an amalgamation of forces fleeing the Oil Crescent after participating in Ibrahim Jadhran’s assault on the oil facilities. However, this is not the first time that IS and BDB units have been either observed together or confused for one or the other. A fortnight earlier on 14 June, unconfirmed reports suggested that IS and BDB fighters were spotted near the village of Harawa, 50 km east of Sirte, with Libyan National Army al-Saiqa Special forces having been mobilized to the location in response to the report.
On 30 June, Sirte security forces declared a state of alert following reports of IS movement in the southern part of the city. The security forces have established checkpoints and are undertaking both mobile and stationed patrols in the city as a response.
Prior to Haftar’s announcement on 27 June, the Darnah Protection Force (DPF) claimed to have been heavily barraged for more than 24 hours by UAE unmanned drone strikes on their positions in the Shiha neighborhood. Conflicting reports suggest that former Darnah Mujahadeen Shura Council (DMSC) Chairman Atiya al-Sharrir was killed during these strikes.
Darnah has been under the control of the DMSC since 2014. In May 2018 the DMSC changed its name to the Darnah Protection Force (DPF), in what has been suggested as an effort to distance itself from the DMSC’s alleged links to al-Qaeda.
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