Libyan Civil War Libyan Civil War - Libreria Militare Ares

volunteers 2 fighter jets, 3 helicopters
Casualties and losses
Air support (until 18 March)
136 killed, [10] 20 killed, 20 captured, 3 tanks destroyed, 4-7 tanks captured, 2 armed oil tankers sunk and 1
175
missing, [11] damaged (First phase, unconfirmed rebel claims) [14][15][16]
250
wounded,* [12] 1 armed oil tanker damaged (First phase, independently confirmed) [17]
at least 1
tank destroyed [13] 21 killed, [18] 6 captured, [19] 24+ tanks, armored vehicles and mobile rocket launchers destroyed
or captured [20] (Second phase)
25 [21] -30 [22] civilians killed (unconfirmed by 17 March)
*Numbers of killed, missing or wounded on the rebel side include civilians.
The Battle of Ajdabiya was an armed battle in and near the city of Ajdabiya that took place as part of the 2011 Libyan uprising. It
was fought between anti-government rebels and military forces loyal to the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. Following the Second
Battle of Brega, in which pro-Gaddafi forces captured the town, Ajdabiya was the only major rebel-held city left en route to the rebel
capital of Benghazi. The battle for Ajdabiya had been cited as a potential turning point in the conflict on which the fate of the whole
rebellion against the Gaddafi government may be decided. [23] On 26 March 2011, Libyan rebels, backed by extensive allied air raids,
seized control of the frontline oil town of Ajdabiya from Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's forces. [24] During the first phase of the battle,
pro-Gaddafi forces seized the strategic road junction leading to Benghazi and Tobruk, and captured most of the city. The city centre
remained in rebel hands, but was surrounded by pro-government forces and cut off from outside assistance. After the second phase,
anti-Gaddafi forces recaptured the road junction and cleared loyalist forces from the city, sending them retreating down the road
towards Sirte. Prior to the battle Ajdabiya was the site of anti-government protests on February 16-17, 2011 in which up to 10
people were said to have been killed, some by pro-government snipers. [25] Protesters quickly took control of the city and declared it to
be a "Free City" after burning down the local government headquarters. [26]
First phase On 15 March 2011, government forces advancing from Brega (which they had captured just a few hours earlier) hit
Ajdabiya with a rolling artillery barrage. Air and naval strikes also hit the city. The city had been subjected to air strikes for the
previous three days. Rebels had stated on 13 March, that they would defend the city to the death. However, as soon as the attack
started, all of the rebel forces that were not local (from Ajdabiya) were in full retreat, with some of the civilian population, toward
Benghazi. Following the artillery strikes, loyalist ground troops attacked. The rebels had expected the loyalists to come in from the
west, and they did. However, another separate government force had outflanked the rebels and attacked the city from the south. The
loyalists quickly overran the western rebel defences and took the western gate into the city. Also, government soldiers had taken the
eastern gate of the city, preventing any more rebels from retreating toward Benghazi. The city was surrounded and the junction at
Ajdabiyah was under government control, opening the way for them to Benghazi. After the encirclement was complete, government
battle tanks went into Ajdabiya all the way to the city center. They encountered the rebel remnants and street fighting ensued. While
the fighting was going on in the streets, two old rebel air-attack fighters, sent from Benghazi, attacked the government naval ships that
had been pounding the city from the sea. According to independent news sources, only one ship was hit, while the rebels claimed they
hit three warships, of which two sank. After a few hours, most of the city was under government control, however, in order to avoid
surprise attacks by hidden rebels during the night, the tanks retreated to the outskirts of the city. The rebels thought they had won.
However, just before midnight, a new round of artillery fire hit Ajdabiya, coming from the loyalist forces that were all around the
town. [14][27][28][29] On 16 March, fighting continued with neither side having the upper hand in the battle or in full control of the
town. [30] Government forces returning from the front said in interviews that rebel resistance was fierce. During the day, a force of
rebel reinforcements, coming from Benghazi, came to within a few kilometers from the eastern entrance to the city before they were
engaged by loyalist troops. They made a small corridor to link up Benghazi with Ajdabiya, but pro-Gaddafi troops still had a strong
presence on the eastern outskirts of the city. Also, rebels had managed to retake the southern entrance to the city, while the western
entrance was still under government control. Three rebel helicopters had attacked pro-Gaddafi forces on the highway at the west
entrance where they were preparing for a final push into the city with more weapons, ammunition and troop reinforcements coming in
from Sirte. [13][31] Just after midnight on 17 March, government troops attacked the southern gate of the city. After three hours of
fighting they had retaken it. Later during the morning loyalist forces closed the corridor on the eastern side of the city. With this, the
city was once again firmly surrounded. While the fighting was going on in Ajdabiya, more government troops landed from the sea, in
an amphibious attack, at the small oil port town of Zueitina, that is to the north on the road between Ajdabiya and Benghazi. The town
fell quickly to loyalist forces. [32] However, rebel leaders claimed that they had surrounded the government landing force and were
engaging them. [33] The next day the rebels claimed, several of their fighters, along with a number of civilians, were killed and 20
government soldiers captured in fighting at the port. [34]
Second phase With a no-fly zone put in place on 19 March, and air-strikes on Gaddafi's force's supply and tank convoys, the rebels
on 20 March, started an advance from Benghazi to attempt to reach Ajdabiya. [35] Along the way, they retook the town of Zueitina. [36]
On 21 March, advancing rebel forces from Benghazi attempted to attack Ajdabiya, trying to relieve the rebels inside the city and drive
out the loyalist troops. However, their attack was repelled by government troops supported by fire from tanks multiple rocket
launchers. The rebels retreated to a checkpoint 12 miles from the city. [37][38][39] That night, U.S. aircraft fired on some loyalist positions
at Ajdabiya, that were reported to be shelling the city. [9] The next morning, rebels, along with a Guardian reporter that was with them,
claimed that the plumes of smoke from the city were from government targets that were hit by the U.S. air-strikes the previous
night. [40] The rebels claimed that at least three loyalist tanks were destroyed at the eastern entrance to the city by Coalition airstrikes.
[41] An Al Jazeera news crew filmed the wreckage of one tank at a checkpoint that was established by the rebels as part of the
frontline. [42] On 23 March, coalition jets launched air-strikes against Gaddafi forces at the eastern gate. [43] People fleeing the city stated
that only the center of the city remained in rebel hands while the suburbs were under government control. [44] Reporters from the
Independent were led on a two-day tour of Ajdabiya by the government and saw no evidence of large-scale destruction that was
claimed by the rebels. [45] On 24 March, Gaddafi's forces were still holding the main east and west gate areas of the city and most of the
town, except the city centre, and managing to hold off the advancing rebel troops from entering the city with the help of mortar and
artillery fire. [46] Late on 24 March, some outside rebel forces managed to get into Ajdabiya, and the situation in the city was becoming