Libyan forces retake Sirte port

Forces allied with Libya's unity government said Saturday they had recaptured the port in Sirte from Daesh (IS) fighters encircled inside the city.

The Libyan forces also retook residential areas in the east of Sirte, which for the past year has been the main IS base in the North African country, a spokesman for the forces, Rida Issa, told AFP.

IS is now surrounded in a densely populated area of around five square kilometres (two square miles) inside the city where they are laying booby traps, he said.

Most of the city's residents have fled but about 30,000 remain, he said.