Libyan Al-Wefaq government forces began bombing a post against the fighters of retired Major General Khalifa Haftar in Sirte (center of the country), days after these forces were relocated to the fighting axes around the city.
Libyan military sources said that Haftar forces, backed by Russian Wagner mercenaries, started using warplanes for the first time in eight months, in addition to drones, in its bombing of Al-Wefaq positions near Sirte.
These sources say that the Wagner Company mercenaries are now fighting against the Al-Wefaq forces in Sirte, after their withdrawal from the fighting axes south of Tripoli, which will make it difficult for Al-Wefaq fighters to take control of this city and may prolong the battle to restore it for some time, with reports of warnings from the Russians that It passed a red line and it would not allow the reconciliation forces to control it.
The
fighting and calmness of the fighting hubs were revived towards Sirte, just hours after the Al-Wefaq forces recaptured the city of Tarhuna, southeast of Tripoli, from Haftar's fighters.
Al-Wefaq forces began attacking Sirte on the fifth of this month, and they managed to control about 100 kilometers of desert lands that Haftar forces had seized about a year ago, starting from the Al-Washka area and until the Thirtieth Gate (30 kilometers away from Sirte) within the administrative borders of the city .
However, after the killing of about 36 Al-Wefaq fighters and seven civilians, the battles subsided, and the Al-Wefaq forces re-positioned themselves around the city, retreating to the gate of the fifty, as Russian Sukhoi aircraft entered the battlefield, in addition to the UAE drones, the Chinese-made Wing Young.
Libyan military analyst Adel Abdul Kafi attributes the possibility of a long period of time to the Sirte battle because of the presence of well-trained Russian Wagner mercenaries.
He said in an interview with Al-Jazeera Net that the Russian mercenaries are the backbone and striking force of Haftar's forces, and that "they have combat skills, modern military equipment, capabilities and the ability to use air defense systems with patrol to provide protection and air cover from the conducting aircraft of the reconciliation forces."
Some compare what is going on in Sirte with the battles of Tarhuna, south of Tripoli, the base of al-Watiyah, and the six cities of the Libyan coast that collapsed successively in the west of the country with the advancement of the reconciliation forces, while others see that these areas were supplying their supply lines for several months before controlling them, and after destroying the Russian systems of Bansir Nine in just three days.
The symbolism of Sirte
geographically, Sirte is considered the closest large city to Misurata that was restored in 2016 from ISIS during a battle then called the battle of Al-Bunyan al-Marsous, in which about 730 people were killed and more than four thousand were injured, most of them were Misurata.
Sufficient military analyst returns and says that Sirte is within the range of heavy artillery and soft flying missiles, adding that the military operation will take some days to comb Sirte and then head towards the Al-Jafra axis, he said.
If Al-Wefaq forces were able to control Sirte, its next goal - according to the military and political leaders - would be to restore the oil crescent to embrace the internationally recognized legitimate government, including ports and oil fields such as Ras Lanuf, Zuitina, Sidra and Brega, which would enhance the strength of this government in any political talks. With Haftar's supporters in the near future.