Thread by @jenanmoussa

1/ I spent 3 weeks in east #Libya.

We were 1st foreign journalists to enter Derna after Libyan army began operation to clear city from ISIS, AlQaeda etc.

Army now controls large parts of Derna but extremists still in old city.

We took drone with us.

2/ Happy to be safe after 3 weeks in east Libya. Difficult area to reach.

I met great people in Benghazi. Thank u all for keeping me safe &helping me get great stories.

I'll update this Derna-thread in English later today. But 1st let me call my mom that I'm okay.

@akhbar

3/ As East Libya is largely forgotten by int media, a bit of context:

Benghazi was center of Libyan uprising in 2011. After Gaddafi’s fall, extremists took advantage of the chaos.

From 2012-2014 Al-Qaeda +ISIS linked groups started reign of terror in Benghazi +Derna.

@akhbar

4/ Imagine that at one point in 2013/2014 there were 10 executions per day in Benghazi by extremists.

Main targets: Army officers, policemen, social activists, lawyers etc. Also Ansar al Shariah (same group that attacked U.S. consulate in 2012) had 120 checkpoints in Benghazi.

5/ By mid 2014 situation in Benghazi &rest of East Libya had become so grim that various jihadi groups (Qaeda, ISIS, etc) were on verge of declaring an Islamic State or Islamic Emirate in East Libya. (this was same period when ISIS declared caliphate in Syria/Iraq) @akhbar

6/ Demoralized by rise of extremists &weakened by all executions of its officers, Libyan army in Benghazi (which had joined anti-Ghadaffi uprising from beginning), pulled in mid 2014 out of Benghazi.

The city had effectively fallen into the hands of the extremists.

@akhbar

7/ Turning point came when Khalifa Heftar, head of Libyan army in the East, organized army &Libya's tribes and created "Operation Karama" (Operation Dignity).

Libyan army supported by locals fought from 2014 till end 2017 against ISIS, Al-Qaeda &all groups affiliated with them.

8/ After defeat of extremist groups in east Libya, by 2018 there was only one place where Al-Qaeda, ISIS etc still controlled territory.

That place was Derna.

Heftar's forces entered Derna on May 2018. They 1st took Temsekt hill, overlooking Derna. (see start of my report)

9/ Libyan army then conquered Derna's suburbs and pushed extremists deeper into Derna, a city which didn't see police or army presence since early 2013.

@HaraldDoornbos and I were first foreign reporters allowed into Derna since army offensive. This was our army escort:

10/ Some observations from my visit to Derna:

- Large parts of city liberated from extremists.

- Near to old city center still a pocket controlled by extremists. Libyan army surrounds it. I heard in distance shooting.

- New: Police is back in Derna, police cars drive around.

11/ Derna observations, part II:

- In army controlled parts, many cars on road, normal life returns.

- Some markets/shops open.

- Areas I visited weren't much destroyed. This isn't another Raqqa. (I don't know level of destruction inside extremists pocket).

@akhbar

12/ Derna observations, part III:

- In areas I visited, there was electricity.

- The extremist pocket inside city is marked with barricades, old cars, containers, rocks etc. Inside pocket fighting army vs extremists. Outside pocket locals move around as "normal" as possible.