Libya's GNA Claims Control Over Sabratha City West of Tripoli - Spokesman

CAIRO (Sputnik) - Libya's Government of National Accord (GNA) forces have taken control over the city of Sabratha, located to the west of the country's capital city of Tripoli, and are continuing the offensive, Mohamed Gnounou, the GNA military spokesman, said on Monday.

"Our forces have established control over the cities of Sabratha and Sorman ... And continue advancing in accordance with the plan developed by the operational headquarters in response to the continued shelling of residential areas in Tripoli," Gnounou said in a statement published on the Facebook account of GNA's Volcano of Rage operation.

According to the press service, the GNA forces captured military equipment and several armoured vehicles during the seizure.

Libya is divided between two governments, with the country’s eastern half controlled by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA) in cooperation with the authorities in Tobruk, while the western half is headed by the UN-backed GNA.

Last April, the LNA launched an offensive to retake Tripoli from forces loyal to the GNA. The latter responded by launching the Volcano of Rage counteroffensive.