Conflict

The Battle for Sirte

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Lorenzo Meloni LIBYA. Sirte. July 2016. On the frontline to liberate Sirte’s ‘700 district’ © Lorenzo Meloni | Magnum Photos
Lorenzo Meloni LIBYA. Sirte. July 2016. Heavy artillery destroyed by advancing Libyan forces © Lorenzo Meloni | Magnum Photos
Lorenzo Meloni LIBYA. Sirte. July 2016. A Libyan military jet at an airbase destroyed by IS. Militants sprayed one of their favourite mottos on the side: ‘remaining and expanding’ © Lorenzo Meloni | Magnum Photos
Lorenzo Meloni LIBYA. Sirte. July 2016. Libyan fighters spotting IS positions inside the grounds of the Ougadougou Complex © Lorenzo Meloni | Magnum Photos
Lorenzo Meloni A tank firing on IS positions in the Hay Dollar district. Libya, Sirte. July 2016. © Lorenzo Meloni | Magnum Photos
Lorenzo Meloni LIBYA. Sirte. July 2016. Fighters on the frontline near the Ibn Sina hospital observing the explosion from an airstrike © Lorenzo Meloni | Magnum Photos
Lorenzo Meloni LIBYA. Sirte. July 2016. The corpse of a slain IS fighter lies beneath eucalyptus trees in Sirte. © Lorenzo Meloni | Magnum Photos
Lorenzo Meloni LIBYA. Sirte. July 2016. On the frontline to liberate Sirte’s ‘700 district’ © Lorenzo Meloni | Magnum Photos
Lorenzo Meloni LIBYA. Sirte. July 2016. Libyan fighters try to ascertain IS sniper position as they advance through the Hay Dollar district © Lorenzo Meloni | Magnum Photos
Lorenzo Meloni LIBYA. Sirte. July 2016. A paramedic and Commander Hamid Issa of the 40th Infantry Unit under IS sniper fire in the grounds of the Ougadougou Complex © Lorenzo Meloni | Magnum Photos
Lorenzo Meloni LIBYA. Sirte. July 2016. Libyan fighters loading a tank with shells during a battle for the Ougadougou Complex © Lorenzo Meloni | Magnum Photos
Lorenzo Meloni LIBYA. Sirte. July 2016. A Fighter from southern Libya observing IS positions in the grounds of the Ougadougou Complex © Lorenzo Meloni | Magnum Photos
Lorenzo Meloni LIBYA. Sirte. July 2016. A Libyan fighter rests in a house in downtime between battles © Lorenzo Meloni | Magnum Photos
Lorenzo Meloni Libyan fighters take a break in a newly-captured building in the grounds of the Ougadougou Complex after a seven-hour battle. Libya, Sirte. July 2016. © Lorenzo Meloni | Magnum Photos
Lorenzo Meloni Two fighters on the frontline in a newly-captured building in the grounds of the Ougadougou Complex. Libya, Sirte. July 2016. © Lorenzo Meloni | Magnum Photos
Lorenzo Meloni LIBYA. Sirte. July 2016. On the frontline to liberate Sirte’s ‘700 district’ © Lorenzo Meloni | Magnum Photos
Lorenzo Meloni Two Libyan civilian volunteers fighting on the frontline against IS © Lorenzo Meloni | Magnum Photos
Lorenzo Meloni Before going to battle, a Libyan fighter prays in the grounds of a petrol station which is being used as a military headquarters. Sirte, Libya. July 2016. © Lorenzo Meloni | Magnum Photos
Lorenzo Meloni LIBYA. Abu Grain. July 2016. The aftermath of an IS car-bomb which targeted a police station in the town of Abu Grain, killing 10 policemen and injuring 15 others © Lorenzo Meloni | Magnum Photos
Lorenzo Meloni LIBYA. Sirte. July 2016. A letter from an IS foreign fighter to an Emir requesting permission to undertake ‘istishhad’ (a suicide attack) found in an abandoned building in the grounds of the Ougado (...)
Lorenzo Meloni Libyan fighters carry a comrade injured by an IS landmine. Libya, Sirte. July 2016. © Lorenzo Meloni | Magnum Photos
Lorenzo Meloni LIBYA. Sirte. July 2016. Abandoned tank shells at an IS car-bomb manufacturing facility in an industrial district on the outskirts of the town © Lorenzo Meloni | Magnum Photos
Lorenzo Meloni LIBYA. Abu Grain. July 2016. The aftermath of an IS car-bomb which targeted a police station in the town of Abu Grain, killing 10. Body parts were still being found even a week after the explosion © Lorenzo Meloni | Magnum Photos
Lorenzo Meloni A Libyan fighter checks a kitchen for IEDs in a villa in a newly-liberated Sirte district. Libya, Sirte. July 2016. © Lorenzo Meloni | Magnum Photos
Lorenzo Meloni A Libyan fighter running from a landmine explosion which injured three of his comrades. Libya, Sirte. July 2016. © Lorenzo Meloni | Magnum Photos
Lorenzo Meloni The bloodstains from an explosion of a landmine which killed the commander of a bomb disposal unit who was trying to dismantle the mine. Libya, Sirte. July 2016. © Lorenzo Meloni | Magnum Photos
Lorenzo Meloni General-Brigadier Mohamed Al-Ghossri surveys the damage an IS suicide bomb wreaked upon a field hospital. Libya, Sirte. July 2016. © Lorenzo Meloni | Magnum Photos
Lorenzo Meloni The black flag of IS painted on the wall of a living room in a complex of buildings occupied by IS fighters. Libya, Sirte. July 2016. © Lorenzo Meloni | Magnum Photos
Lorenzo Meloni Hair cuttings and beard trimmings from IS fighters who shaved before fleeing the premises they occupied, to be able to be disguised amongst ordinary civilians. Sirte, Libya. July 2016. © Lorenzo Meloni | Magnum Photos
Lorenzo Meloni LIBYA. Sirte. July 2016. A burned-out room in a premises used as an IS car-bomb manufacturing facility in an industrial district on the outskirts of the town © Lorenzo Meloni | Magnum Photos
Lorenzo Meloni LIBYA. Sirte. July 2016. A burned-out room in territory newly-liberated from IS by Libyan fighters © Lorenzo Meloni | Magnum Photos
Lorenzo Meloni LIBYA. Sirte. July 2016. The son of a family who stayed in their home both under the rule of IS and throughout the recent fighting © Lorenzo Meloni | Magnum Photos
Lorenzo Meloni LIBYA. Sirte. July 2016. Libyan fighters unearthing an IS mass grave © Lorenzo Meloni | Magnum Photos
Lorenzo Meloni LIBYA. Sirte. July 2016. Libyan fighters entering an abandoned IS secret prison © Lorenzo Meloni | Magnum Photos
Lorenzo Meloni LIBYA. Sirte. July 2016. A Libyan fighter prepares a multiple rocket launcher for an early morning offensive against IS © Lorenzo Meloni | Magnum Photos
Lorenzo Meloni A Libyan sniper in Sirte’s Hay Dollar district.In the meantime, photography like Meloni's offers snapshots of the action, stasis, and mounting death toll that exemplifies a five-year-old conflict, (...)
Lorenzo Meloni LIBYA. Sirte. July 2016. A Libyan sniper firing on IS positions at the Ibn Sina hospital © Lorenzo Meloni | Magnum Photos
Lorenzo Meloni LIBYA. Sirte. July 2016. Libyan fighters carry a comrade injured by an IS sniper from the battlefield © Lorenzo Meloni | Magnum Photos
Lorenzo Meloni LIBYA. Sirte. July 2016. Libyan fighters advancing through sniper fire in the Hay Dollar district © Lorenzo Meloni | Magnum Photos
Lorenzo Meloni LIBYA. Sirte. July 2016. Two Libyan fighters taking cover from sniper fire on the westernmost frontline against IS © Lorenzo Meloni | Magnum Photos
Lorenzo Meloni LIBYA. Sirte. July 2016. Libyan fighters carry a comrade injured by an IS sniper from the battlefield © Lorenzo Meloni | Magnum Photos
Lorenzo Meloni LIBYA. Sirte. July 2016. A fighter stakes out IS positions from a rooftop © Lorenzo Meloni | Magnum Photos
Lorenzo Meloni LIBYA. Misurata. July 2016. Two Libyan fighters wounded on the frontline against IS have just been brought into the emergency room of Misurata Central Hospital © Lorenzo Meloni | Magnum Photos
Lorenzo Meloni LIBYA. Sirte. July 2016. Volunteers carry the body of a slain Libyan fighter into the Sirte field hospital © Lorenzo Meloni | Magnum Photos
Lorenzo Meloni LIBYA. Sirte. July 2016. A Libyan sniper and his spotter in the Hay Dollar neighbourhood © Lorenzo Meloni | Magnum Photos
Lorenzo Meloni A Tuareg fighter with an RPG on the frontline against IS in the Hay Dollar neighbourhood of Sirte. Libya, Sirte. July 2016. © Lorenzo Meloni | Magnum Photos
Lorenzo Meloni LIBYA. Misurata. July 2016. Mourners line up to give condolences at the funeral of a fighter killed in Sirte © Lorenzo Meloni | Magnum Photos
Lorenzo Meloni LIBYA. Sirte. July 2016. A group of fighters and a sheikh after sharing iftaar during Ramadan © Lorenzo Meloni | Magnum Photos
Lorenzo Meloni LIBYA. Sirte. July 2016. A modified Jeep armed with a 106 'recoilless rifle' on the westernmost frontline against IS on the Sirte seafront © Lorenzo Meloni | Magnum Photos
Lorenzo Meloni LIBYA. Misurata. July 2016. The funeral of a fighter killed in Sirte © Lorenzo Meloni | Magnum Photos
Lorenzo Meloni LIBYA. Abu Grain. July 2016. A Libyan fighter guards the Abu Grain checkpoint at night © Lorenzo Meloni | Magnum Photos
Lorenzo Meloni LIBYA. Sirte. July 2016. A group of Libyan fighters refuelling their vehicle from a tanker at a petrol station outside Sirte © Lorenzo Meloni | Magnum Photos
Lorenzo Meloni LIBYA. Sirte. July 2016. A Libyan spotter identifying IS positions on the westernmost frontline against IS on the Sirte seafront © Lorenzo Meloni | Magnum Photos
Lorenzo Meloni LIBYA. Sirte. July 2016. A view of the westernmost frontline against IS on the Sirte seafront © Lorenzo Meloni | Magnum Photos
Lorenzo Meloni LIBYA. Sirte. July 2016. A Libyan fighter washes before prayers on the easternmost frontline © Lorenzo Meloni | Magnum Photos