War on Libya’s Derna: Haftar’s forces advance under air attacks’ cover

Libya self-styled army forces advanced into several neighbourhoods in Derna on Monday after stepping up a military campaign to oust rivals from the eastern city, a spokesman for Khalifa Haftar said.

The advance followed heavy shelling and air strikes and artillery shelling on civilian populated areas in different neighbourhoods in the city.

“Early on Monday, LNA forces entered Derna from both the eastern and western coastal roads and took control of the Shiha and Bab Tobruk districts, advancing to within one kilometer of the port,” one of the Haftar’s operation commanders, Salem Al-Rafadi, told Reuters.

Haftar announced the “second phase of the liberation of Derna,” in a speech on his loyal social media pages.