ConflictBarometer_2015
ConflictBarometer_2015
ConflictBarometer_2015
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MIDDLE EAST AND MAGHREB<br />
and the internationally recognized government were based<br />
in the eastern cities of Tobruk and al-Bayda.<br />
In western Libya, the camp supporting the internationally<br />
recognized government, particularly the Zintan al-Qaqa and<br />
al-Sawaiq brigades as well as the Noble Tribes Army (NTA)<br />
from Wershefana region, clashed with the Misrata-led Libya<br />
Dawn alliance in the course of the year. Forces loyal to the al-<br />
Bayda-based government carried out air raids against Libya<br />
Dawn, targeting, for instance, Mitiga International Airport<br />
in Tripoli on five occasions in March, damaging the runway<br />
on March 19. This forced the GNC delegation to postpone<br />
their departure for their participation in the UN Dialogue<br />
in Morocco. Two days later, another airstrike killed Libya<br />
Dawn senior military commander Salah Burki in Tripoli. On<br />
March 23, an aerial bombardment hit the town of Tarhouna,<br />
Murqub district, allegedly killing eight civilians. The same<br />
day, a warplane belonging to Libya Dawn was shot down<br />
by pro-internationally recognized government forces, killing<br />
one pilot in the area of the town of Zintan, al-Jabal al-Gharbi<br />
district. Libya Dawn's less frequent airstrikes targeted the<br />
town's airport several times. Furthermore, ground forces<br />
engaged in fighting. For instance, in the first months of the<br />
year, al-Qaqa and al-Sawaiq brigades, together with the NTA,<br />
countered Libya Dawn's advance from al-Zawiya towards<br />
the western al-Watiya air base, al-Nuqat al-Khams district.<br />
Reportedly, tanks and Grad rocket launchers were employed<br />
in the confrontations. The area separating the coastal towns<br />
al-Zawiya and Tripoli from the Nafusa mountains, location of<br />
the town of Zintan, was the scene of major confrontations.<br />
For example, between March 18 and 19, in Bir al-Ghanam<br />
area, al-Zawiya district, clashes between Libya Dawn and<br />
Zintan brigades claimed the lives of nine Libya Dawn fighters,<br />
as reported by the alliance. In addition, according to a<br />
military source, 17 militiamen from the group loyal to the<br />
internationally recognized government were killed. Around<br />
15 were injured in total. On March 20, the al-Bayda-based<br />
government announced an offensive to retake the capital.<br />
The following day, heavy weapons were used in the fighting<br />
around al-Aziziya, al-Jafara district. Fighting on April 3 in the<br />
same area left ten pro-official government forces dead and<br />
eight wounded as well as eight killed and four injured from<br />
Libya Dawn alliance. In clashes on April 17, four Libya Dawn<br />
and 14 pro-internationally recognized government fighters<br />
as well as a number of civilians were killed according to a<br />
military source from the al-Bayda-government camp. Heavy<br />
weapons were used in ground combats fought in Tripoli suburbs,<br />
particularly in Tajoura. Simultaneously, LNA conducted<br />
airstrikes against Libya Dawn. After peace agreements between<br />
pro-internationally recognized government forces and<br />
some Libya Dawn-aligned groups, brigades from Misrata and<br />
Tripoli formed the Steadfastness Front, rejecting non-GNC<br />
authorized negotiations. The number of confrontations in<br />
western Libya decreased considerably in the second half<br />
of the year. However, on October 27, after GNC-alliance<br />
blamed NTA for allegedly downing a helicopter near al-Maya,<br />
al-Zawiya district, killing at least 18 people including three<br />
Libya Dawn colonels, clashes between Libya Dawn and NTA<br />
erupted.<br />
In central Libya, in the district of Sirte, the Ibrahim Jadhran-led<br />
Petroleum Facilities Guard (PFG), siding with the internationally<br />
recognized government and supported by LNA, clashed<br />
with Libya Dawn forces. The latter had launched ''Operation<br />
Sunrise'' in December 2014 in order to seize PFG-controlled<br />
oil ports such as Ras Lanuf and al-Sidr. On January 3, for<br />
instance, five Libya Dawn fighters were killed and around 50<br />
injured, whereas PFG reported the deaths of three and the<br />
wounding of ten on its side. Warplanes loyal to al-Baydabased<br />
government carried out airstrikes against Libya Dawn.<br />
PFG, again backed by internationally recognized government<br />
forces conducting airstrikes, stated six of its forces killed<br />
and others wounded during confrontations on February 3,<br />
while 24 Libya Dawn fighters reportedly died. On March 3,<br />
the GNC-aligned forces carried out air raids targeting the oil<br />
ports. In late March, Libya Dawn withdrew from its offensive.<br />
In neighboring al-Wahat district, forces supporting the al-<br />
Bayda-based government fought against the Ajdabiya Revolutionaries'<br />
Shura Council (ARSC). On May 21, ARSC shelled<br />
two LNA checkpoints between the district's capital Ajdabiya<br />
and the town of Tobruk, wounding a number of soldiers.<br />
LNA supported by PFG forces repelled the attack. Reportedly,<br />
a US airstrike targeting al-Mourabitoun leader Mokhtar<br />
Belmokhtar killed seven Ansar al-Sharia members outside<br />
Ajdabiya on June 14. Subsequently, a group of militants,<br />
including ARSC members, tried to enter the town in order<br />
to treat their wounded. Five people were killed and 18<br />
wounded on the side of armed locals, LNA, and PFG forces<br />
which engaged in a firefight with the group to prevent their<br />
access to the town. On August 1, LNA supported by other<br />
armed forces attacked ARSC in the industrial area, leaving at<br />
least eleven LNA troops injured. LNA warplanes bombarded<br />
ARSC positions. Clashes lasting for several days erupted in<br />
mid-December between armed locals, PFG, and LNA-aligned<br />
al-Tawhid al-Salafiya Brigade, on the one hand, and ARSC, on<br />
the other. LNA launched airstrikes on the industrial district<br />
of the town. The confrontations left at least 14 people dead<br />
and approx. 15 wounded. Some 75 families reportedly fled<br />
the area.<br />
In the nearby city of Benghazi, the Operation Dignity coalition<br />
led by General Khalifa Haftar sought control of the<br />
town fighting against the Benghazi Revolutionaries' Shura<br />
Council (BRSC). Haftar, first self-declared head of his own<br />
Libyan National Army, was officially depicted by HoR as LNA's<br />
commander-in-chief in March. For instance, on January 3, six<br />
pro-internationally recognized government soldiers were allegedly<br />
killed by BRSC fighters, with LNA forces subsequently<br />
shelling al-Sabri area with tanks and other heavy weapons. In<br />
January, Muhammed al-Zahawi, founder of the BRSC group<br />
Ansar al-Sharia in Benghazi, died, reportedly due to injuries<br />
of fighting against al-Bayda-based government forces last<br />
year. In total, clashes claimed the lives of at least 47 people<br />
and left about 230 injured in January. On February 5, confrontations<br />
left seven internationally recognized government<br />
forces dead and at least 20 wounded. At least two BRSC fighters<br />
were also killed. Two days later, BRSC reportedly killed<br />
at least seven and wounded around 40 Operation Dignity<br />
troops in further confrontations. Operation Dignity forces,<br />
which had employed tanks, missiles, and combat-helicopters<br />
in clashes, claimed the killing of some 30 BRSC members.<br />
An LNA tank battalion supported by armed residents fought<br />
BRSC on April 10, leaving ten Operation Dignity forces dead<br />
and more than 40 injured. Clashes with BRSC fighters on<br />
May 20 resulted in the death of at least nine soldiers and<br />
at least 30 were wounded. As in most cases, the number of<br />
fatalities among BRSC remained unknown. On June 19, five<br />
LNA soldiers were killed in a mortar attack. Two days later,<br />
five LNA soldiers died when they triggered a booby trap. On<br />
June 22, a suicide car bomb reportedly claimed by Ansar<br />
al-Sharia left four forces loyal to al-Bayda-based government<br />
dead and 20 wounded in Nawagia, an area outside Benghazi<br />
disputed by LNA and BRSC. On September 19, Haftar announced<br />
''Operation Doom'' as final phase in military efforts<br />
against Islamists in Benghazi. Coinciding with peace talks<br />
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