Heavy clashes in Benghazi as army tries to take control of port

Seven soldiers have been killed as clashes erupted in the centre of Libya’s main eastern city Benghazi on Thursday, with pro-government forces pushing to take the port district from Islamist militants.
The fighting mirrors a wider struggle in the oil-producing North African state where two governments and parliaments, allied to rival armed groups, are vying for control almost four years after Muammar Gaddafi fell to an armed uprising.
Backed by forces led by General Khalifa Haftar, army special forces in mid-October launched an offensive against Islamists in Benghazi, expelling them from the airport area and from several camps the army had lost during the summer.
Army forces have since been trying to retake the port area and two other districts where pro-government forces say fighters from the militant Islamist Ansar al-Sharia group are holed up.

On Thursday morning, army vehicles advanced on the Corniche road towards the port gate and a nearby court building. Soldiers took over several government buildings such as a passport office, a state insurance and a state bank damaged in earlier fighting.
Around 25 soldiers were wounded, army sources said.
“The road to the port is under our control,” said Faraj al-Barassi, a military commander.