Despite not having a significant amount of military forces yet, the UN-backed Libyan “unity government”is claiming that forces loyal to them are advancing against the ISIS-held city of Sirte, and that their intention is to soon surround the city.
Spokesman Mohamed al-Gasri reported that the troops were going to seize a road leading south from Sirte, and surround the city, and while the intention right now is to order a full civilian pullout from the city, they “can enter within hours” in necessary.
Details on the size of the report are unclear, but puts them about 50 km from the city, building sand barriers along the main highway, as an attempt to prevent ISIS from using suicide vehicle bombs to soften up the advancing troops.
If they’re building barriers all the way to the city, that push is going to be a long one, and that claims they could push into the city in a matter of hours are simply unrealistic.