| Raid on Ghadames | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Libyan Civil War | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| |||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 400 fighters [2] | 100 fighters [2] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 9–11 killed [6] 75 wounded [3] [5] | Unknown | ||||||
The raid on Ghadames was a series of hit-and-run attacks carried out between 24 and 26 September 2011 by groups of pro-Gaddafi forces, allegedly including elements of the Khamis Brigade, [3] [7] against the National Transitional Council-administered desert oasis town of Ghadames, Libya, during the Libyan Civil War.
Ghadames, an oasis town with a population of around 10,000, [8] lies surrounded by desert in a corner of western Libya, bordering both Algeria and Tunisia. The city is home to one of five UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Libya. [9] Throughout much of the conflict, Ghadames remained isolated and cut off from communications. As such, news from the town was scant and control of the town was not easy to discern. Some reports said that Ghadames remained "under siege" by loyalists for months; [10] however, when anti-Gaddafi forces retook the town in late August, these reports were shown to be outdated. [11] After the war, National Geographic reported that rebels had indeed staged an uprising in the town, but that a loyalist Tuareg militia suppressed it at some point. [12]
After apparently filtering across the Libya-Algeria border in cars for several days, loyalist forces launched an attack on NTC forces in the city of Ghadames on 24 September. [3] The raid began at around 5:30 AM as group of around 100 loyalists, allegedly including mercenaries from Algeria and groups of Tuareg, [2] entered the city and began attacking NTC positions. Local pro-Gaddafi sleeper cells were also reported by local officials to have joined in on the raid. [2] Anti-Gaddafi forces lost 6-8 fighters and suffered more than 60 wounded before driving loyalists back into the desert. [3] Sporadic shelling of the town by loyalists continued after the raid, and anti-Gaddafi forces continued to engage in clashes with loyalists as they pursued them out of the town. [2]
By the next day, the town was once again clear, but NTC forces had increased security, setting up new checkpoints and posting snipers at key locations. Colonel Ahmed Bani, an NTC spokesman, said that he expected that loyalists would continue to try to use the vast desert area outside of Ghadames as a base of operations, but that anti-Gaddafi forces had secured the area and would not allow another attack. [3] During the night, another series of clashes erupted which continued into the morning of 26 September, leaving another three rebels dead and a dozen wounded. [5]
Ghat is the capital of the Ghat District in the Fezzan region of southwestern Libya, located just east of the Algerian border.
Ghadames or Ghadamis is an oasis town in the Nalut District of the Tripolitania region in northwestern Libya.
The Libyan civil war or the 2011 Libyan revolution, also known as the First Libyan Civil War, was an armed conflict in 2011 in the North African country of Libya that was fought between forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and rebel groups that were seeking to oust his government. The war was preceded by protests in Zawiya on 8 August 2009 and finally ignited by protests in Benghazi beginning on Tuesday 15 February 2011, which led to clashes with security forces who fired on the crowd. The protests escalated into a rebellion that spread across the country, with the forces opposing Gaddafi establishing an interim governing body, the National Transitional Council.
The Libyan Civil War began on 17 February 2011 as a civil protest and later evolved into a widespread uprising. By mid-August, anti-Gaddafi forces effectively supported by a NATO-led international coalition were ascendant in Tripolitania, breaking out of the restive Nafusa Mountains in the south to mount an offensive toward the coast and advancing from Misrata on loyalist-held cities and villages from the north and east.
Khamis Gaddafi was the seventh and youngest son of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, and the military commander in charge of the Khamis Brigade of the Libyan Army. He was part of his father's inner circle. During the Libyan Civil War in 2011, he was a major target for opposition forces trying to overthrow his father.
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The timeline of the Libyan civil war begins on 15 February 2011 and ends on 20 October 2011. The conflict began with a series of peaceful protests, similar to others of the Arab Spring, later becoming a full-scale civil war between the forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi's government and the anti-Gaddafi forces. The conflict can roughly be divided into two periods before and after external military intervention authorized by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973.
The Fezzan campaign was a military campaign conducted by the National Liberation Army to take control of southwestern Libya during the Libyan Civil War. During April to June 2011, anti-Gaddafi forces gained control of most of the eastern part of the southern desert region during the Cyrenaican desert campaign. In July, Qatrun changed to anti-Gaddafi control on 17 July and back to pro-Gaddafi control on 23 July. In late August, anti- and pro-Gaddafi forces struggled for control of Sabha.
The Battle of Tripoli, sometimes referred to as the Fall of Tripoli, was a military confrontation in Tripoli, Libya, between loyalists of Muammar Gaddafi, the longtime leader of Libya, and the National Transitional Council, which was attempting to overthrow Gaddafi and take control of the capital. The battle began on 20 August 2011, six months after the First Libyan Civil War started, with an uprising within the city; rebel forces outside the city planned an offensive to link up with elements within Tripoli, and eventually take control of the nation's capital.
The Libyan Civil War began on 15 February 2011 as a civil protest and later evolved into a widespread uprising. However, by 19 March, Libyan forces under Colonel Muammar Gaddafi were on the brink of a decisive victory over rebels in Libya's east. That day, leading NATO members acted on United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 which authorized member states "to take all necessary measures... to protect civilians and civilian populated areas under threat of attack in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, including Benghazi, while excluding an occupation force".
The Second Gulf of Sidra offensive was a military operation in the First Libyan Civil War conducted by rebel anti-Gaddafi forces in August and September 2011 to take control of towns along the Gulf of Sidra in an effort to surround Muammar Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte, which was held by pro-Gaddafi forces. It ended on 20 October, with the capture and execution of Muammar Gaddafi and his son Mutassim Gaddafi, along with former defense minister Abu-Bakr Yunis Jabr. The Gaddafi loyalists in the area were finally defeated when NTC fighters captured Sirte.
The raid onRas Lanuf was a hit-and-run attack carried out in the early morning of 12 September 2011 by two groups of fighters loyal to Muammar Gaddafi in an apparently coordinated effort to disrupt oil refinery and export operations in the National Transitional Council-administered port town of Ra's Lanuf, Libya, during the Libyan Civil War.
The Battle of Sirte was the final and most decisive battle of the First Libyan Civil War, beginning when the National Liberation Army attacked the last remnants of the Libyan army still loyal to Muammar Gaddafi in his hometown and designated capital of Sirte, on the Gulf of Sidra. As of September 2011, Sirte and Bani Walid were the last strongholds of Gaddafi loyalists and the National Transitional Council hoped that the fall of Sirte would bring the war to an end. The battle and its aftermath marked the final collapse of the four-decade Gaddafi regime. Both Gaddafi and his son, Mutassim, were wounded and captured, then tortured and killed in custody less than an hour later. The month-long battle left Sirte almost completely in ruins, with many buildings damaged or totally destroyed.
The Battle of Bani Walid was a military operation in the Libyan Civil War conducted by anti-Gaddafi forces in September and October 2011, in an effort to take control of the desert city of Bani Walid from pro-Gaddafi forces. It began following days of force buildup on the part of the attackers, as well as skirmishes around the city.
The 2011 Libyan Civil War began on 17 February 2011 as a civil protest and later evolved into a widespread uprising. After a military intervention led by France, the United Kingdom, and the United States on 19 March turned the tide of the conflict at the Second Battle of Benghazi, anti-Gaddafi forces regrouped and established control over Misrata and most of the Nafusa Mountains in Tripolitania and much of the eastern region of Cyrenaica. In mid-May, they finally broke an extended siege of Misrata.
The 2012 Bani Walid uprising was an event which started on 23 January 2012 due to an incident in the city of Bani Walid in which the "May 28 Brigade" militia wished to arrest local men in unclear circumstances. The May 28 Brigade and their compound were then attacked by local fighters who then took control of the town. The incident, the combatants, and the motives of the two main belligerents — the May 28 Brigade and Brigade 93 — remain uncertain and contentious. The conflict was originally reported to be an attack by Gaddafi loyalists by local NTC officials. However, tribal leaders and residents have denied any affiliation with Gaddafi's remnants, stating their goal was the establishment of their own council in the city. Similarly Britain's Foreign Office has dismissed claims of this incident representing a pro-Gaddafi attack against the NTC, stating that this was a dispute between tribal leaders of the Warfalla tribe and the NTC.
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