Residents of the city of Sirte in Libya have finally received the authorization to return to their homes, two months after the self-styled Islamic State terrorist group was forced out of their city.
However, the Libyan Army is tightly controlling the population's return and has installed drastic security measures to prevent the return of militants to the newly-liberated city, France24 reported.
Forces loyal to the Libyan government of national accord took back the city from IS militants on December 5, 2016, after seven months of heavy fighting.
More than 700 people were killed and another 3,000 were wounded in the operation, called Al-Bunyan Al-Marsous (Solid wall), according to Libyan authorities.
Since February 6, long queues of cars, filled with displaced people eager to return home, have been forming on the outskirts of the city. Soldiers, posted at checkpoints in all of the main streets in the city, have been carefully monitoring the returnees.
About 300 families have already been able to return to their homes, according to Ahmad al-Rwati, the spokesperson for Operation Al-Bunyan Al-Marsous.
The general staff of the operation has developed a detailed plan laying out the progressive return of displaced residents, which will continue throughout February.
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