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By Libya Herald staff.
25 November 2014:
Libya Dawn troops who withdrew from Kikla over the weekend are regrouping and planning a renewed . . .[restrict]offensive to take the entire Jebel Nafusa (Western Mountains), according to the Tripoli-based administration of Omar Al-Hassi.
“The thuwar had to pull back from Kikla because if they stayed there the town would have been totally destroyed,” the head of the Foreign Media office and de facto spokesperson for the Al-Hassi administration Jamal Zubia told the Libya Herald. He added that some 300 people, mostly civilians, had been killed during the fighting in the mountain town.
Zubia said that Libya Dawn forces were now planning a new offensive to take control of the whole of the Jebel Nafusa. “There have been meetings between the thuwar from all towns and they have decided to liberate the mountains [the Jebel],” he said. “They pulled out of Kikla to plan new tactics and techniques for fighting, and a new attack strategy.” Zubia added that the offensive would begin “very shortly”.
He claimed that the forces of the Libyan National Army (LNA), which he referred to as “Qaddafists and Zintanis”, had caused extensive destruction to Kikla by their use of new and up-to-date weapons imported and received from other countries, including the UAE, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
Contrary to claims from the Thinni government and members of the LNA that the Hassi “government” was receiving weapons from Qatar and Turkey, Zubia said the thuwar were not using imported arms but replying on older ones taken from Qaddafi stores during the 17 February Revolution.
The strength of the thuwar fighting in the Jebel Nafusa lay in their bravery, he said. “The [LNA] soldiers are like mercenaries and want to preserve their own lives so they can spend their money in the future. But the thuwar do not care about money. They care about saving the country,” Zubia insisted.
It meant they would eventually win the battle for the Jebel, he believed. [/restrict]
