Cairo: Libyan army forces, led by the country’s strongman Khalifa Haftar, on Monday entered Derna as part of a large-scale campaign aimed to retaking the coastal city from militants, a media centre linked to the military said.

The Military Media Centre posted on its Facebook page a video showing residents in Derna greeting the forces as they are moving inside the eastern city.

The Libyan National Army, commanded by Haftar, said it had entered the district of Eastern Coast, a major neighbourhood, from the eastern side of Derna.

“The troops are progressing cautiously inside the district for fear of mines planted by the extremist groups to hamper the army’s progress,” Salah Al Ebeidi, a senior infantry officer, said in media remarks

The breakthrough came after a series of airstrikes by the army that targeted main arms depots and a militant field hospital in the city, according to media reports.

Last month, pro-Haftar forces started a long-anticipated offensive on Derna, the last city in the east outside the control of the Libyan administration based in the east.

Derna is controlled by an alliance of radical Islamists led by the so-called Shura Council, believed to be linked to Al Qaida.

Last week, the UN reported intense fighting in the city amid severe shortages of food, medical and water supplies for its residents of around 150,000. The locals are also hit by electricity outages, according to the UN Humanitarian Office.

The Libyan forces have besieged the city since mid-2015.

Haftar has been leading a relentless drive against extremists in Libya since May 2014.The 75-year-old commander has established a clout and expanded territorial control in Libya in recent years.

Libya has experienced anarchy and political feud since the 2011 overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in a 2011 armed revolt. The North African country is split by two competing administrations: one in the capital Tripoli in the west and the second in the city of Tobruk in the east.

Last week, rival leaders agreed on an ambitious peace roadmap, brokered by France, including presidential and parliamentary elections on December 10.