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Haftar Forces Announce Total Liberation of Benghazi | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Members of the Libyan National Army celebrate after the liberation of the last region of terrorist militants in their last stronghold in Benghazi, Libya, Wednesday. REUTERS


Cairo – The Libyan National Army (LNA) led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar announced on Wednesday the liberation of the last strongholds of armed groups in Saberi, north of Benghazi.

Brigadier General Ismail al-Baraki, commander of the Saberi Operations Room, said that the military operations have ended completely in this zone, which was the last in Benghazi. As soon as the news was announced, the city saw major celebrations and festivities.

On Saturday, LNA spokesman Khalifa al-Abidi had reported “significant progress” in the Benghazi battle, adding that the “terrorists” were besieged in an area of two square kilometers.

Meanwhile, press sources reported that a random shell landed on a beach in the Libyan capital on Wednesday evening, killing five people, including one child, and injuring 25 others.

While Libya’s National Accord Government, which is supposed to take over matters in the Libyan capital, did not provide any official explanation for the incident, security sources have reported that armed battles between security forces and illegal armed groups occurred at the same time of the bomb explosion.

The interior ministry in the government led by Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj announced that it had launched an urgent investigation into the incident in Tripoli, which has led to several deaths and injuries.

In a statement, the ministry said that continuous measures were taken to arrest and prosecute illegal armed groups, which are responsible for security incidents in the capital.

Tripoli hospitals reported that 32 people were injured in the beach accident.

“The casualties are the result of clashes on Tuesday between a security unit and outlaws who fired a shell that fell on a beach in front of Mitiga airport,” Abdulsalam Ashour, a deputy interior minister in Sarraj’s government, said.

Tripoli is home to several armed groups, some of which share control of Mitiga airport and the surrounding area. They occasionally clash in wars over the control of smuggling businesses and localized disputes.