TRIPOLI, Libya
At least 30 people have been killed by Daesh militants in northern Libya’s Sirte Basin Province – including 25 who were reportedly executed – in two days of fighting that continued on Saturday, according to a source from Libya’s Tripoli-based General National Congress (GNC).
The GNC source, who requested anonymity, told Anadolu Agency that Daesh declared on Friday that its fighters had executed 25 hostages in the province.
The hostages were reportedly captured on Thursday in Sirte’s northern Al-Thaleth district during clashes between local residents and Daesh militants.
According to the source, Daesh has managed to reassert its control over the oil-rich province.
“Daesh terrorists raided the homes of local residents and carried out mass arrests. Hostages will be tried by the group’s so-called courts,” the source said.
On Saturday, Libya’s Tobruk-based government called on the Arab League to convene an emergency session to discuss the developments, according to Ahmed bin Heli, the Cairo-based league's assistant secretary-general for political affairs.
Notably, on June 1, Libya’s Tripoli-based government also called for armed mobilization against Daesh’s activities in the North African nation.
Libya has remained in a state of turmoil since a bloody uprising ended the decades-long rule of strongman Muammar Gaddafi in late 2011.
Since then, the country's stark political divisions have yielded two rival seats of government – in the western city of Tobruk and the eastern city of Tripoli – each of which boasts its own institutions and military capacities.
