The south brigade and other armed forces have joined brigades 16, 45 of UN-proposed government’s defense ministry in the attack that paved the way for regaining control of Timnahent airbase and Samnu district, the spokesperson of the “Desert Wrath” operation, Colonel Salem Abu Rawi confirmed on Monday.
Desert Wrath operation was kicked off earlier this week aiming to fight off pro-Haftar forces led by Mohammed Ben Nayel in south Libya. The operation was launched last Saturday under the name “Awaited Hope” before it had been changed to Desert Wrath.
Speaking on TV, Abu Rawi said that the “military coup” airstrikes that were carried out by Dignity Operation from Al-Feel oilfield did not discourage their forces or push them to abandon their mission, “which they conducted skilfully,” he added.
“We are still advancing on many locations on the ground and taking control of them all the way through amidst the current encouraging support that we are receiving from all southerners.” Abu Rawi indicated.
“We call on the National Oil Corporation in Tripoli to clarify its stance on using the oilfields’ airports by Dignity Operation militias to target locations of the forces in southern Libya and thus causing injuries and damages to the innocent civilians across the region.” He further remarked.
The operation was kicked off by the defense ministry last Saturday to regain control of the positions captured by armed groups loyal to Khalifa Haftar and led by Mohammed Ben Nayel, who is a staunch follower of Haftar.
The defense ministry of the UN-proposed government justified its force use in southern Libya by saying that all peaceful efforts to settle the issue down failed and thus it had to end the crisis militarily.
