Ex-Libyan General in Bid to Retake Benghazi

Forces loyal to a former Libyan general leading an offensive against Islamist militia launched a new push Wednesday to try to recapture the second city of Benghazi, witnesses said.

Gunfire and explosions were heard in the flashpoint eastern city, according to an Agence France Presse correspondent, after ex-general Khalifa Haftar announced that he was ready to "liberate" Benghazi.

Witnesses said that tanks had launched an assault against an Islamist militia known as the "February 17 Martyrs Brigade", while planes carried out air raids against the group, whose headquarters is located west of the city.

The oil-rich North African nation has been gripped by turmoil since the 2011 uprising that toppled long-time leader Moammar Gadhafi, with the authorities struggling to control powerful militias that ousted and killed him.

A parliament, elected in June, is recognised by the international community but contested by militia controlling most of Tripoli and by Islamists who dominate Benghazi.

Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thani and the elected parliament have decamped to the far eastern city of Tobruk because of widespread insecurity, including in the capital, where a rival administration has been set up.

Haftar launched a military offensive dubbed "Operation Dignity" against Islamists in Benghazi in May, but with little success.

Most of Benghazi is held by Islamists including the Ansar al-Sharia jihadist militia, which the United States has branded a terrorist organisation.

In a speech broadcast late Tuesday, Haftar warned: "The coming hours and days will be difficult".

He said: "I bring you today (a message) from the men of Operation Dignity saying that they are ready to fulfil their next goal, which is to liberate the city of Benghazi."

The eastern city, the birthplace of the 2011 uprising, has been the scene of intense fighting between the Islamists and pro-Haftar soldiers.

The Islamists drove Haftar's forces from their main bases in Benghazi at the end of July, killing dozens of his fighters, and have targeted the city's airport for the past month.

A spokesman for Haftar had earlier called on young people in Benghazi to secure their neighbourhoods and to keep out Islamist fighters, saying the former general's forces would enter the city on Wednesday.

Haftar's troops are locked in deadly clashes with the Islamists almost every day.

At least 22 people, including soldiers, have been killed in violence in Benghazi over the past 48 hours, according to military and hospital sources.

On Tuesday, seven soldiers were killed in a car bomb near the airport, according to a spokesman for forces loyal to the former general.