Libyan eastern-based army is preparing to launch a large-scale military operation aimed at controlling the city of Zawiya, some 45 km west of Tripoli, a military source said.
The source said: “military reinforcements arrived in the outskirts of Zawiya city, with the maximum readiness of the army units, especially in the areas of Bir al-Ghanam and Garyat Naser in the southern outskirts of the city.
“The coming few days will see limited progress towards the city, pending orders of the General Command of the army, to start invasion and launch a major operation to regain control of the city.”
The source said that there is coordination within Zawiya with a number of army officials and support groups for the army, adding that they are waiting for orders to attack strongholds of terrorist and outlaw groups.
Army commander, Gen. Khalifa Haftar, earlier announced plans to take over Zawiya city, saying that the army had taken control of parts of the western region stretching from Zwara on the border with Tunisia to the city of Zawiya.
Libya’s western region has recently witnessed an uprising of armed battalions backed by armed civilians, against militias, which resulted in the expelling of the militias from the cities of Sabratha, Sorman and Ajailat. Haftar’s army, allied with the Libyan eastern-based parliament, controls eastern and southern Libya, as well as part of the west.
The rest of the country is dominated by the UN-backed government of national accord. Libya has been struggling to make a democratic transition since the fall of former regime in 2011. The country is plagued with political division and unrest. NAN
