There have been fresh clashes between forces aligned with Libya’s UN-backed government and ISIL militants in Sirte.<br /><br /> It comes a day after the retaking of a convention centre that had been the symbol of the militant group’s authority in the city.<br /><br /> In a statement, they said they had taken ISIL’s “most important bastions” in its former North African stronghold.<br /><br /> What happened?<br /><br /> The UN-backed Libyan government forces and fighters seized the Ouagadougou convention centre along with several other key sites on Wednesday.<br /><br /> Major advance for Libyan forces in Sirte https://t.co/B2yXhBSU3Z pic.twitter.com/mPwYtKs88o— Reuters TV (@ReutersTV) August 11, 2016<br /><br /> They moved into areas that had been fought over for weeks, the advance slowed by sniper fire, trip wires and landmines.<br /><br /> Who are the fighters?<br /><br /> They are led by brigades from the nearby Misrata.<br /><br /> They repelled an ISIL advance south of their city in early May, before pushing eastwards to Sirte.<br /><br /> Have they achieved their aims?<br /><br /> US-backed forces liberate ’70 percent’ of the Libyan city of Sirte, last Islamic State bastion in the country. https://t.co/r5esfxt0ew— The Associated Press (@AP) August 11, 2016<br /><br /> Not yet.<br /><br /> They have yet to gain control of several neighbourhoods in central Sirte.<br /><br /> There has been sporadic gunfire with militants entrenched near the port. <br /><br /> How significant would this be?<br /><br /> The capture of Sirte would be a major setback for ISIL. It is the only city in Libya where the group has established total control.<br /><br /> It could also boost the fortunes of the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA). <br /><br /> It has been struggling to exert its influence on a country riven by political and armed rivalries.<br /><br /> US air strikes<br /><br /> US Africa Command says it carried out seven strikes on Sirte on Wednesday, targeting trucks mounted with heavy artillery, fighting positions, a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device and two supply trucks.<br /><br /> US drones and fighter jets have carried out 36 strikes over Sirte since August 1.<br /><br /> The human cost<br /><br /> 18 GNA fighters were killed on Wednesday<br /> 72 were wounded<br /> 350 brigade fighters have been lost since Sirte campaign began<br /><br /> 1,500 have been wounded<br /><br /> What they are saying<br /><br /> “It will not take much time. Probably not months, just a few weeks,” – GNA Prime Minister Fayez Seraj tells Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera that the defeat of ISIL will not take long.<br /><br /> “They may try to run or commit suicide, but they don’t have the power to face our forces anymore. After we took control of Ouagadougou, ISIL is finished from a military point of view,” – Colonel Mohammed al-Ghasri, official spokesman for military operations in Sirte.<br /><br /> “Military engineering units are now working to clear the captured areas of mines,” – brigade spokesman Issa.<br />
