LIBYAN NATIONAL ARMY OUTFLANKS MILITANT-HELD CITY OF DERNA FROM WESTERN DIRECTION

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On May 19, the Libyan National Army (LNA) launched a new ground attack on positions of the Shura Council of Mujahedeen in Derna (SCMD) west of the city of Derna and captured the valleys of Basis and Jirm, according to the Libyan news outlet Africa Gate News.

The source also reported that a warplane of the Libyan Air Force had carried out an airstrike on a key position of the SCMD near the Police Academy in Derna. Other Libyan sources said that the LNA artillery had shelled several positions of the SCMD in the western entrance of the city.

Meanwhile, the pro-SCMD news outlet Derna Red Line (DRL) claimed that SCMD fighters had repelled an attack of the LNA on the western entrance of Derna. According to the source, SCMD fighters killed and injured several LNA soldiers while repelling the attack.

Observers believe that the LNA will develop its ground attack on the western part of Derna in the upcoming days, especially that its attack on the eastern part was repelled by the SCMD on May 17.

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