Libyan forces make final push to retake Sirte from ISIL

Forces loyal to Libya’s UN-backed government have pushed into the last areas of Sirte held by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) as they press a months-long offensive to retake the coastal city from the armed group’s fighters.

Sunday’s advance saw fighters loyal to the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) “enter the last areas held by Daesh in Sirte: district No 1 and district No 3”, a government spokesman said, according to the AFP news agency. Daesh is an Arabic acronym for ISIL, which is also known as ISIS.

“The final battle for Sirte has started,” Reda Issa said, adding that about 1,000 fighters allied with the GNA were taking part in the offensive. 

In a statement on its Facebook page, the city’s field hospital said 34 pro-GNA fighters were killed and scores more wounded in clashes with ISIL on Sunday. An earlier statement had said the death toll was 25.

The offensive comes a little more than two weeks after soldiers captured a key neighbourhood in the heart of  Sirte as part of the advance that began three months ago. 

READ MORE: Libyan forces retake central Sirte district from ISIL  

ISIL seized control of Sirte, the birth place of Libya’s overthrown leader Muammar Gaddafi, last year and controlled about 250km of the country’s Mediterranean coastline before forces aligned to the GNA began operations against it in mid-May.

The United States has been providing military support in the effort to expel ISIL from Sirte since August 1.

As of August 24, US warplanes had carried out a total of 82 strikes, according to the United States Africa Command .

The pro-government forces fought their way into Sirte on June 9 and seized the ISIL headquarters at the Ouagadougou conference centre on August 10.

READ MORE: Libyan forces recapture ISIL headquarters in Sirte

Losing Sirte would be a major setback for ISIL, already under pressure in Syria and Iraq.

It would also be a boost for Libya’s UN-backed government, which has struggled to impose its authority and faces continuing resistance from armed groups.

ISIL still controls several residential areas, though, and the government-led fighters have previously found it difficult to advance through neighbourhoods in house-to-house fighting.

The internationally backed government’s forces and those of a rival authority in the east are currently engaged in a race to be the first to drive ISIL out of the city.

Libya has suffered from chaos since the 2011 overthrow of Gaddafi, with numerous revolutionary militias formed along regional and ideological lines vying for power.