Three months of Benghazi fighting kill 600: Medics
ReutersBENGHAZI, Libya: About 600 people have been killed in three months of heavy fighting between Libyan pro-government forces and Islamist groups in Libya’s second-largest city Benghazi, medical staff said Sunday. Backed by forces led by a former general, army special forces in mid-October launched an offensive against Islamists in Benghazi, expelling them from the airport area and from several camps the army had lost during the summer. The fighting is part of a wider struggle in the oil-producing country, where two governments and parliaments, allied to armed groups, are vying for control almost four years after the ousting of long-time ruler Moammar Gaddafi. For two months, the army has been trying to take the port area and two other districts where pro-government forces say fighters from the Islamist group of Ansar al-Shariah are holed up. The port has had to close. Since the start of January, 34 people have been killed, most of them soldiers, and 23 wounded, hospital medics said.
