Libyan force seizes control of migrant smuggling hub
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A Libyan armed group has claimed victory over Italian-backed militias paid to staunch the flow of migrants to Europe from the coastal city of Sabratha.
The Anti-ISIS Operations Room, created last year to clear Sabratha of Islamic State militants, said in a statement that they have taken control of the city from the Martyr Anas al-Dabashi and Brigade 48 militias after a weeks-long battle.
Over the summer, Italy began funneling resources to the two militias after they agreed to stop facilitating the flow of migrant boats and start blocking them instead.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}All factions are nominally under the control of the U.N.-backed Government of National Accord, which hailed the developments as "positive."
Libya has plunged into chaos since a 2011 uprising that toppled and later killed longtime ruler Moammar Gadhafi.