BENGHAZI: A Libyan navy ship was hit during heavy fighting with aircraft and tanks yesterday between the army and Islamist militants near the port of Benghazi, residents of the major city on Libya’s eastern Mediterranean coast said.
Army special forces, backed by troops of an ex-general, launched an offensive in the Benghazi area two weeks ago against Islamist militants blamed by Washington for a 2012 assault on the former US consulate which killed the American ambassador.
A hospital next to Benghazi’s port appealed to the Red Crescent to evacuate sick people trapped inside by the fighting while the army moved more tanks and artillery into the city.
A reporter could see smoke rising from the port, an important conduit for food, wheat and fuel supplies to eastern Libya. A security source said the unidentified navy ship was sinking but this could not immediately be confirmed.
Warplanes could be heard firing into the port area.
Dozens of residents were leaving Benghazi, heeding a call by the army to evacuate the port area and main commercial district where military officials said Islamists were holed up.
At least 238 people have been killed, eight of them yesterday, since the army started the offensive, medics said.
REUTERS
