The Libyan National Army (LNA) has gained control on strategic locations in Sabha, including Sabha International Airport and some military camps formerly seized by armed groups, according to a Friday statement.
After taking control of the airport, the southwestern city’s historic Citadel and the Mountain Hotel on Thursday, the military units moved south of Sabha to seize the rest of the military camps, which the Chadian opposition had taken as a safe haven.
This is part of the LNA’s operation launched on 14 January to liberate the southern region from gangs and terrorist groups.
Sabha Airport has been shut down since January 2014 after being destructed and looted amid clashes between Tubu Tribe, an ethnic group inhabiting northern Chad and southern Libya, and Awlad Sulaiman tribe inhabiting Sabha and southern Libya.
Sabha was one of the most important havens for terrorists and criminal gangs to carry out attacks, human and drug trafficking, weapons smuggling alongside illegal immigration.