Baku-APA. Fighters loyal to Libya's renegade general Khalifa Haftar on Wednesday launched a major assault on the Islamist armed groups, in a bid to retake the crucial north-eastern city, APA reports quoting Xinhua.
Local media reported that sporadic fighting has already begun since Tuesday night, and it became more intense in the early hours of Wednesday in districts of Qaryounis, Vinicia and Taballino.
A witness said the whole city "wakes up with complete silence except the sound of explosions." Other witnesses saw heavy crossfire flaring and armed vehicles speeding through city's streets.
According to local media reports, several Haftar's tanks and warplanes were concentrating their fires on bases belonged to the Islamist armed group "Feb. 17 brigade."
Medical resources said that 12 people from Haftar's forces were killed in combat. The casualties of the Islamist armed groups were not immediately known.
The assaults came hours after Haftar made speech on a private TV channel owned by his backers, saying that the "national army" will expel the Islamist militants from the city. He called on local citizens to rise up against the "terrorists."
Haftar, who played a major role in toppling Libya's former leader Muammar Gaddafi, has been waging a war on Benghazi's Islamist armed groups since May. He called his manoeuvre Operation Dignity, constantly pounding the Islamist armed groups.
However, Haftar's secular-leaning forces recently met several major setbacks and has lost most of their bases in Benghazi. His troops now only control Benghazi's Beinina Airport and its surrounding areas.
Libya has witnessed a drastic escalation of violence after the 2011 turmoil which toppled Gaddafi. The Islamist militants and pro- secular militia have been vying for cities and towns for months, and fighting still flares near Tripoli, Benghazi and Gharyan.
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