Fighters from the Benghazi Shura Council (BSC) have arrived in Derna, local media reports from Derna confirmed.
The fighters, who were based in the Sidi Khrebish district in central Benghazi for the last few months, arrived in Derna on Friday night after a sudden pullout when Dignity Operation forces tightened their siege on them.
Military sources confirmed that the fighters of the BSC carried out a tactical withdrawal in order to preserve the lives of their fighters after the intensification of the siege and the closing off of all support and supply routes.
According to the same sources, a group of BSC fighters volunteered to act as a decoy by clashing with Dignity Operation in the vicinity of the Baladi Hotel in central Benghazi so that the rest could withdraw safely towards Derna.
The Free Libya Martyrs’ Brigade, which is part of the BSC, mourned the members of their battalion, who were killed in action, as “heroes of the epic battle of Khrebish”, and praised their sacrifice as they kept Dignity Operation forces engaged with renewed clashes in the Baladi Hotel on Friday to allow their colleagues to withdraw safely towards Derna.
Clashes renewed in the district of Sidi Khrebish on Friday after Dignity Operation forces announced that they had extended their control over the district, thus liberating the city for the second time.
A leader in Dignity Operation forces announced on Saturday that a large sweep was taking place in the last strongholds of the BSC in the city.
It is worth noting that Dignity Operation media outlets had announced earlier that only seven bodies of fighters of the BSC were found after being killed during recent clashes, adding that their forces have not arrested any prisoners.