Libyan forces push back against Haftar in house-to-house battles

Forces backing Libyan government fought house-to-house battles with troops loyal to commander Khalifa Haftar in southern parts of the capital Tripoli on Sunday and appeared to be gaining ground.

Government soldiers, some in jeans and t-shirts, took cover by abandoned buildings as they fired on Haftar's positions. Some carried anti-aircraft guns they had to remove from their trucks to get through the narrow streets.

Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA), which is allied to a rival administration in eastern Libya, mounted an offensive on Tripoli three weeks ago but has failed to breach defenses in the city's south despite heavy fighting.

The battle for the capital has all but wrecked UN-backed efforts for a peace deal between the rival factions and threatened to further disrupt Libya's oil industry.

Two eastern operations of state oil firm NOC– which have in the past made broad statements backing Haftar– on Sunday for the first time specifically said they supported his offensive. The NOC as a whole has tried to stay out of the conflict.

"We are progressing. We are now in the phase of expelling the enemy from the capital," Salah Badi, a commander from the western city of Misrata fighting the LNA, said.

The situation on the frontline remains fluid, as both sides are seen gaining and losing ground within hours.

The North African country has been in a state of chaos since Gaddafi was ousted in 2011 with Western intervention. The latest flare-up threatens to leave a power vacuum that Islamist militants could exploit.

(Cover:A member of the Libyan government forces fires during a fight with Eastern forces in Ain Zara, Tripoli,April 28, 2019. /Reuters Photo)

(REUTERS)