Prime Minister Feyaz Serraj was in Stuttgart on 24 August to meet with the new US Africa Command (AFRICOM) commander, General Thomas D. Waldhauser, as well as US Special Envoy Jonathan Winer. The visit followed nearly a month of sustained AFRICOM airstrikes, as part of Operation Odyssey Lightning, in support of pro-GNA ground forces as they advance through the former Islamic State (IS) headquarters of Sirte. At the time of Serraj’s visit, there were indications that only around 200 IS fighters remained in the city. Many IS leaders have been killed or captured. In fact, on the day Serraj was in Stuttgart, IS commander Omar Al-Ferjani was captured fleeing east from Sirte, having cut off his beard as a disguise. The previous day, an IS doctor was captured in District 1 of the city.

During the meeting, Serraj — along with the head of his Temporary Security Committee, Abdurrahman Al-Taweel and his political adviser Taher Al-Sonni — expressed their appreciation of the US commitment to assist the GNA in its fight against IS. AFRICOM jets — including highly sophisticated AH-1W SuperCobra helicopter gunships — carried out 82 airstrikes between 1 and 24 August. This has allowed pro-GNA forces to overcome the initial inertia in their advance towards the Sirte city centre and force IS out of most districts.

The airstrikes have helped end the reign of terror in Sirte, during which IS attempted to create a functioning bureaucracy that would institutionalise its repressive form of governance in a country with few competing governance models. One aspect of IS’ model was to loot Sirte’s wealth. On 23 August, pro-GNA fighters discovered a stash of gold, money and weapons in the former Hisbah (religious police) headquarters, taken over the previous week and cleared of mines.

General Waldhauser and Special Envoy Winer emphasised the need to focus on post-IS planning for Sirte. They discussed a series of strategic options with Serraj and his delegation to ensure that the hard won gains in Sirte are not lost. According to Misrata’s central hospital between 442 and 452 pro-GNA fighters have been killed, with another 2,000 wounded, in the campaign. It may now have progressed past District 2, and potentially leaving a single district to liberate before IS can officially be declared to have been removed from Sirte.

If that is the case then the pro-GNA camp will — with support from the US — have been able to do in less than five months what Haftar and his men have not been unable to do in over two years.

With all the sacrifice that it has taken to get to this point — including American political capital — it is imperative to both the GNA and the US that Sirte is perceived as an example of what the Libyan people can do to fight terrorism when united under a single internationally recognised government.

The risks that this will not happen are, however, considerable, and especially if the largely Misratan forces decide to stay in Sirte. If they appoint one of their own as the military commander of the city it will only exacerbate tensions with the returning local population. If, however, the Misratans decide to do this, there is little that the GNA can do to stop them because it has so far failed to sufficiently diversify its militia support base.