TRIPOLI, Sept 16 (NNN-Xinhua) — Spokesman of Libya’s eastern-based army, Ahmad al-Mismari, on Sunday said that the army will intensify its military action against the rival UN-backed government in the next few days.
“The military operations will be intensified in the next few days”, the spokesman told a press conference in the eastern city of Benghazi, demanding the residents of Tripoli to “keep away” from “militants and weapons storage places.”
“The international community must realize that the battle is a pure security battle, not a political one as some portray it,” al-Mismari said.
Earlier Sunday, the eastern-based army announced making significant progress against the UN-backed government forces here.
For more than five months, Tripoli has been witnessing violent clashes between the eastern-based army and the UN-backed government over the control of the city.
The fighting killed and injured thousands of people, forcing nearly 120,000 civilians to flee their homes.
Libya has been suffering escalating violence and political instability ever since the fall of the former leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
NNN-Xinhua
