BENGHAZI
A Libyan official has dismissed reports that the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) had taken control of Darnah, although he admitted to the presence of an ISIL-linked group in the eastern city.
"There is no direct ISIL presence in Darnah, but an extremist group operating there has recently sworn allegiance to the ISIL," the local official told The Anadolu Agency on condition of anonymity.
According to the official, the so-called Shura Council of Islamic Youth, one of the town's leading Islamist groups, gave several religious lectures during which it declared its allegiance to ISIL chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
The official believes that if the shura council declares Darhah an ISIL-held state, it would face fierce resistance from other militant Darnah-based Islamist groups that oppose the ISIL.
Libya has been dogged by political instability since the 2011 ouster and death of long-ruling strongman Muammar Gaddafi.
Ever since, rival militias have frequently locked horns, often bringing violence to Libya's main cities, especially capital Tripoli and Benghazi.
The central government, for its part, has remained largely absent from the scene.
The sharp political divisions have yielded two rival seats of government, each of which has its own institutions.
Two assemblies, meanwhile, are vying for legislative authority: a House of Representatives that convenes in Tobruk and a General National Congress, which – even though its mandate ended in August – continues to convene in Tripoli.
The two parliaments support two rival governments respectively headquartered in the two cities.
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