On May 3, units of the Libyan Armed Forces commanded by Gen. Khalifa Hifter moved from Benghazi westward, launching what was said to be an offensive on Sirte to dislodge the Islamic State, which has been in control of the coastal city since February 2015.

French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Monday that the Islamic State group was spreading from its stronghold on the Libyan coast to the interior of the country with the aim of getting access to oil wells.

Jufra District, Libya, Asharq Al-Awsat—Militias in Libya have seized chemical weapons from arsenals located in the southern and central provinces of the country that used to belong to former leader Muammar Gaddafi, military sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Nineteen people, most of them said to be members of Libyan National Army (LNA) soldiers, were reported to have been murdered in southern Libya early this morning by a group of militants. Some are said to have had their throats slit, others to have been shot.