Category: Libya

ISIS In Action
Sirte’s port remains under the control of Bunyan Marsus, but clashes with ISIS continue to take place around the port’s western perimeter. Libyan naval vessels continue to blockade the port, while local sources also report the presence of foreign naval frigates. Fighting this week focused on the ISIS stronghold in the Ouagadougou Centre, Ibn Sina Hospital, and Sirte University areas, with airstrikes and helicopter gunships featuring heavily in the battles. In short, very little progress is being made to dislodge ISIS from these areas. ISIS fighters still appear to have a presence in areas previously taken by Bunyan Marsus in Sirte’s south and west, and ISIS also appears to be attempting to flank Bunyan Marsus, indicating a more prolonged guerrilla war in the city.
A weekly update of ISIS’s actions, the Western response, and developments pertaining to Libya’s other militias is available by subscribing here.  To read about Western countries’ responses to ISIS in Libya this week, click here. To read the Eye on ISIS in Libya Team’s blog post about the actions of other jihadi actors, click here. And to read their explanation of the developments within the anti-ISIS Coalition of Libyan militias, click here.
To read all four sections of this week’s Eye on ISIS in Libya report, click here. To subscribe to receive this report weekly into your inbox, sign up on the subscribe page.

ISIS In Action 
In Sirte, the Government of National Accord’s (GNA) Bunyan Marsus coalition continues to advance pinning ISIS into an ever smaller part of the city — tightening the noose around ISIS militants holed up in its central areas. Sirte’s port remains under the control of Bunyan Marsus, but clashes with ISIS continue to take place around the port’s western perimeter. GNA naval boats are blockading the port, while intense fighting is now taking place near the Ouagadougou Centre, ISIS’s main stronghold, with Misratans making heavy use of airstrikes and artillery fire to take out ISIS snipers. Bunyan Marsus leaders say that the coalition has killed large numbers of ISIS fighters who have attempted to break out of their encirclement — lashing out by launching Grad missiles at Bunyan Marsus forces on 10 July in the first, second and third residential districts as well as in the university campus. Bunyan Marsus leaders have optimistically said they expect the battle to be completed within the next two weeks, although most serious analysts predict a more drawn out battle.
There is a suspicion that the senior ISIS leadership has already evacuated from Sirte. Informed sources say that Libyan ISIS members have attempted to defect to friendly Islamist militias south of Sirte, some of whom are nominally aligned with the Misratans. The Misratans are also increasingly bitter at what they see as the failure of Fayez Serraj and the GNA’s Presidency Council to provide supplies and armaments that they need for the operation.  This bitterness could increase the likelihood of a new Misratan-Islamist convergence against the GNA once the anti-ISIS campaign in Sirte has concluded.
To read the Eye On ISIS in Libya Team’s treatment of Western countries’ responses to ISIS in Libya this week, click here. To read their blog post about the actions of other jihadi actors, click here. And to read their explanation of the developments within the anti-ISIS Coalition of Libyan militias, click here.
To read all four sections of this week’s Eye on ISIS in Libya report, click here. To subscribe to receive this report weekly into your inbox, sign up on the EOIL homepage.

ISIS In Action
The GNA’s Misratan-led Bunyan Marsus operations room launched a massive ground assault on 21 June in an attempt to capture the centre of Sirte. However, ISIS snipers and IED’s repeatedly dealt Bunyan Marsus significant losses throughout the week. Most of the fighting occurred in the area known as “700 district” in southeastern sector of central Sirte, and less than a few kilometres from the Ibn Sina hospital and Ouagadougou complex, ISIS’s base of operations. Bunyan Marsus managed to take control of an ISIS bomb factory, and is now laying siege to the city, with regular airstrikes and artillery shelling of key ISIS positions. At this time, Bunyan Marsus commanders estimate only 500-700 ISIS fighters remain in the city, contrary to higher estimates by the CIA and other foreign military sources.
A weekly update of ISIS’s actions, the Western response, and developments pertaining to Libya’s other militias is available by subscribing here.  To read about Western countries’ responses to ISIS in Libya this week, click here. To read the Eye on ISIS in Libya Team’s blog post about the actions of other jihadi actors, click here. And to read their explanation of the developments within the anti-ISIS Coalition of Libyan militias, click here.
To read all four sections of this week’s Eye on ISIS in Libya report, click here. To subscribe to receive this report weekly into your inbox, sign up on the subscribe page.

ISIS In Action
This week witnessed the slowing momentum of the Government of National Accord’s (GNA) anti–ISIS operation in Sirte, as fierce ISIS counterattacks stalled the operation’s advance. This development is chiefly attributed to two factors: 1) ISIS is beginning to push back on the Bunyan Marsus advance inside Sirte, successfully and repeatedly hitting GNA forces behind their own front lines, and 2) the ‘defection’ of the hardline Islamist factions (e.g. Benghazi Defense Brigade) and other associated militias.
Although the GNA’s Misratan-led Bunyan Marsus coalition continued the previous week’s speedy advance into Sirte, taking control of the radio station, fodder factory and seizing a large arms depot on 13 June, the coalition lost control of Sirte’s port on 14 June, after a large ISIS counterattack managed to push the coalition back to the east. Currently, the port serves as a frontline, with Misratan forces situated on the eastern perimeter, and ISIS on the west. Small Libyan navy boats currently block the port, while airstrikes are ongoing against ISIS positions in the area.
On 14 June, ISIS launched an assault on the port, forcing Bunyan Marsus units positioned there to withdraw one kilometre to the east. ISIS militants also advanced to the west for the first time under cover of heavy artillery and rocket fire, successfully retaking Zafaraan roundabout.
On 15 June, ISIS renewed its assault on the port, as Bunyan Marsus forces bombarded the main ISIS headquarters in Sirte in Ouagadougou center with heavy artillery and airstrikes.
Most significantly on 16 June, ISIS was able to conduct four SVBIED attacks, one at Abu Grein 70 kilometres west of Sirte, and others at the power station and the fodder factory west of the city. The fierce ISIS response to the Bunyan Marsus advance, and the defection of several militias from the coalition has greatly slowed the momentum of the last three weeks.

A weekly update of ISIS’s actions, the Western response, and developments pertaining to Libya’s other militias is available by subscribing here.  To read about Western countries’ responses to ISIS in Libya this week, click here. To read the Eye on ISIS in Libya Team’s blog post about the actions of other jihadi actors, click here. And to read their explanation of the developments within the anti-ISIS Coalition of Libyan militias, click here.
To read all four sections of this week’s Eye on ISIS in Libya report, click here. To subscribe to receive this report weekly into your inbox, sign up on the subscribe page.