Zawiya skirmish

Part of the Libyan Civil War
| Date| 11 June – 12 June 2011
(1 day)

|

Location|

Zawiya, Libya

Result|

Pro-Gaddafi victory[1][2][3]

* Pro-Gaddafi forces repel rebel attack on the city

Belligerents

Anti-Gaddafi forces

* National Liberation Army

Gaddafi Loyalists

* Libyan Army
* Paramilitary forces

Commanders and leaders
Unknown|  Mahdi al-Arabi[4]
Strength
100–200 fighters[5]|  Munawaba Brigade[4]
Casualties and losses
30 killed
20 wounded[6]|  2–dozens*[5][7] killed
17 captured[8]
1 civilian killed[9]
*Rebels claimed that up to 100 loyalist soldiers were killed, but no independent sources confirmed the claim[10]

* v
* t
* e

First Libyan Civil War

* Timeline
* Feb–18 Mar
* 19 Mar–May
* Jun–15 Aug
* 16 Aug–Oct

* * *

* Bayda
* 1st Benghazi
* 1st Tripoli
* Misrata
* 1st Zawiya
* Nafusa Mountains
* Wazzin
* Gharyan
* 1st Brega
* Ra's Lanuf
* Bin Jawad
* 2nd Brega
* Ajdabiya
* 2nd Benghazi
* 1st Gulf of Sidra
* 3rd Brega
* Brega–Ajdabiya
* Cyrenaican desert
* Misrata Frontline
* Tawergha
* Zliten
* uprising
* Sebha
* Zawiya
* 4th Brega
* Fezzan
* Sebha
* Msallata
* Coastal Offensive
* 2nd Zawiya
* Ras Ajdir
* Tripoli
* 2nd Gulf of Sidra
* 2nd Bin Jawad
* Sirte
* Bani Walid
* Ra's Lanuf
* Ghadames
* 2nd Tripoli
* Killing of Muammar Gaddafi

The Zawiya skirmish began on 11 June 2011, when the National Liberation Army launched an attack into the coastal city of Zawiya, Libya in an attempt to recapture it[11] from army units and militiamen loyal to Muammar Gaddafi. The attack was quickly crushed by the numerically superior and better-equipped loyalist forces, who had taken the city earlier in the Libyan Civil War after defeating rebel forces in a major battle that lasted from February to March 2011.

## Combat[edit]

New clashes had restarted by early June, with an anti-Gaddafi uprising within the city. On 11 June, a spokesman for the rebel National Transitional Council said that the opposition fighters were in control of a large area on the western side of the city. Later the same day, Reuters confirmed that the coastal road was shut down and deserted, except for a large number of soldiers, police and armed men in civilian clothes. Residents also confirmed that fighting had begun during the morning between loyalist forces and rebels and described the fighting as "heavy".[12]

According to a rebel spokesman within the city, 30 rebels were killed and 20 wounded in two days of fighting. The rebels managed to take control of the western side of the city, but the loyalists remained in control of the city center and eastern side.[6] Also, there were reports that loyalist forces were receiving reinforcements.[9] Guma el-Gamaty, United Kingdom–based coordinator for the National Transitional Council, claimed that rebel fighters in Zawiya consisted of fighters who had trained in the Nafusa Mountains. Moussa Ibrahim, a Libyan government spokesman, insisted that only 20 to 25 rebel guerrilla fighters had infiltrated the city and were being surrounded, and that they posed no threat to the regime.[11]

By the evening of 12 June, a government spokesman announced that the rebels were defeated at Zawiya after hours of fighting.[13] A group of foreign reporters were taken from Tripoli to Zawiya for confirmation of the loyalist victory. The reporters saw secure streets and confirmed that the pro-Gaddafi green flag was flying at the main square, where hours earlier rebels had claimed to have surrounded the loyalists and were attacking them from three sides. The government stated that the opposition forces had been pushed out of the city and surrounded on the edge of Zawiya.[3] This was partially confirmed when a reporter heard several gunshots west of the city center, from which the rebels assaulted, and a rebel in the town stated that fighting was still taking place.[14][15]

The rebels claimed that during the battle, a loyalist commander, the high-ranking el-Khouwildy el-Ahmeidy, was seriously wounded in a NATO air-strike while on his way to Zawiya.[3]

On 13 June, contact with the rebel spokesman in the city, who was updating journalists on the situation, had ceased and the highway running through Zawiya toward the Tunisian border was re-opened. Foreign journalists were taken on a tour of the highway, confirming that traffic was no longer being re-routed around Zawiya, as was done at the beginning of the fighting.[1]

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b "Germany recognizes Libya's rebel leadership". Reuters. 13 June 2011. Retrieved 15 June 2011.
2. ^ "Libya 'repulses rebels' in Zawiya". BBC. 13 June 2011. Retrieved 15 June 2011.
3. ^ a b c Michaels, Maggie (11 June 2011). "Libya's rebels claim resurgence; government denies". The Guardian. Misrata. Associated Press. Retrieved 3 December 2012.
4. ^ a b Zawya Hospital aftermath of 11/06/2011 fighting Archived August 10, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. Universalsubtitles.org. Retrieved on 2011-06-15.
5. ^ a b McDonnell, Patrick J. (13 June 2011). "Libyan officials and rebels give conflicting reports on Zawiya fighting". Los Angeles Times. Tripoli. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
6. ^ a b "Libyan forces fight rebels on several fronts". CTV News. Associated Press. 12 June 2011. Retrieved 3 December 2012.
7. ^ "Rebels press Gaddafi on three fronts as southern tribe revolts". The Scotsman. 12 June 2011. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
8. ^ "Libyan rebels capture 17 Gaddafi's soldiers". Xinhua. Beijing. 12 June 2011. Archived from the original on June 13, 2011. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
9. ^ a b "Rebels say clashes near Libyan capital kill 13". Algiers: Today's Zaman. Reuters. 12 June 2011. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
10. ^ "Al Jazeera Live Blog". Al Jazeera. 12 June 2011. Retrieved 15 June 2011.
11. ^ a b Londono, Ernesto (11 June 2011). "Libyan rebels battle for key oil port near Tripoli". Washington Post. Zawiya. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
12. ^ "Fighting in Zawiyah shuts Libya coast road-resident". Reuters Africa. Reuters. 11 June 2011. Archived from the original on 20 September 2012. Retrieved 15 June 2011.
13. ^ "Libyan government says Zawiyah revolt defeated". Reuters Africa. Reuters. 12 June 2011. Archived from the original on 20 September 2012. Retrieved 15 June 2011.
14. ^ "Libyan rebels say still fighting near capital". Reuters. 12 June 2011. Retrieved 15 June 2011.
15. ^ "Zawiyah's heart a ghost town after rebel advance". Reuters. 12 June 2011. Retrieved 15 June 2011.

* v
* t
* e

Libyan civil war (2011)

* Part of the Arab Spring

* Timeline
* 15 February–18 March
* 19 March–31 May
* June–15 August
* 16 August–23 October

Forces|

* Opposition
* National Liberation Army
* Free Libyan Air Force
* NCLO
* Armed Forces of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
* Libyan Army
* Libyan Air Force
* Libyan Navy
* Revolutionary Guard Corps

Battles|

| Cyrenaica|

* Battle of Bayda
* First Battle of Benghazi
* First Battle of Brega
* Battle of Ra's Lanuf
* Battle of Bin Jawad
* Second Battle of Brega
* Battle of Ajdabiya
* Second Battle of Benghazi
* First Gulf of Sidra offensive
* Third Battle of Brega
* Battle of Brega–Ajdabiya road
* Cyrenaica campaign
* Fourth Battle of Brega
* Ra's Lanuf raid

|

Fezzan|

* Sabha clashes
* Fezzan campaign
* Battle of Sabha
* Ghadames raid

Tripolitania|

* First Tripoli clashes
* Battle of Misrata
* First Battle of Zawiya
* Nafusa Mountain Campaign
* Battle of Wazzin
* Battle of Gharyan
* Battle of the Misrata frontline
* Zliten uprising
* Battle of Zliten
* Battle of Tawergha
* Zawiya skirmish
* Msallata clashes
* Rebel coastal offensive
* Second Battle of Zawiya
* Ras Ajdir clashes
* Battle of Tripoli
* Second Gulf of Sidra offensive
* Battle of Sirte
* Battle of Bani Walid
* Second Tripoli clashes

NATO operations|

* Operation Ellamy
* Opération Harmattan
* Operation Mobile
* Operation Odyssey Dawn
* Operation Unified Protector

People|

| Anti-Gaddafi|

* Mustafa Abdul Jalil
* Mahmoud Jibril
* Abdul Fatah Younis
* Khalifa Haftar
* Abdelhakim Belhadj
* Ali al-Sallabi
* Abdul Hafiz Ghoga
* Suleiman Mahmoud
* Omar El-Hariri
* Mohammed Ali Madani
* Mustafa Bin Dardef
* Hamid Hassy
* Daou al-Salhine al-Jadak
* Jalal al-Digheily
* Ali Tarhouni
* Abdel Moneim al-Houni
* Ali Zeidan
* Abdurrahim El-Keib
* Osama al-Juwaili
* Ahmed al-Senussi
* Hussein Darbouk
* Fathi Terbil
* Ali Attalah Obeidi
* Mahdi al-Harati
* Khalid Shahmah
* Yousef Mangoush
* Abu Oweis
* Abdullah Naker
* Ismail al-Salabi
* Sadiq Al-Ghariani
* Seham Sergiwa
* Fathi Bashagha
* Mustafa A. G. Abushagur
* Ahmed Omar Bani
* Al-Mahdi Al-Barghathi
* Salwa Bughaighis
* Abdel-Hakim al-Hasidi
* Kais al-Hilali
* Ali Abd-al-Aziz al-Isawi
* Mohammed Magariaf
* Mohammed Najm
* Mehdi Mohammed Zeyo
* Mahmoud al-Werfalli

|

Pro-Gaddafi|

* Muammar Gaddafi
* Abu-Bakr Yunis Jabr
* Saif al-Islam Gaddafi
* Khamis Gaddafi
* Mutassim Gaddafi
* Al-Saadi Gaddafi
* Ayesha Gaddafi
* Abdullah Senussi
* Ali Sharif al-Rifi
* Moussa Ibrahim
* Abuzed Omar Dorda
* Baghdadi Mahmudi
* Mansour Dhao
* Saif al-Arab Gaddafi
* Ahmed al-Gaddafi al-Qahsi
* Mohammed Abdullah al-Senussi
* Bashir Saleh Bashir
* Ahmed Gaddaf al-Dam
* Abdel Rahman Abdel Hamid
* Tohami Khaled
* Ali Kanna
* Khweldi Hameidi
* Muftah Anaqrat
* Hasan al-Kabir al-Gaddafi
* Mohamed Gayth
* Massoud Abdelhafid
* Mahdi al-Arabi
* Huda Ben Amer
* Hala Misrati
* Safia Farkash
* Abdul Ati al-Obeidi
* Mohamed Abu al-Qasim al-Zwai
* Salih Rajab al-Mismari
* Abdul Majid al-Qa′ud
* Tayeb El-Safi
* Sayyid Gaddaf al-Dam
* Bashir Saghir Hawadi
* Abdulqadir al-Baghdadi
* Mustafa Kharoubi

NATO|

* James G. Stavridis
* Charles Bouchard
* Ralph Jodice
* Rinaldo Veri
* J. Christopher Stevens

Others|

* Moussa Koussa
* Shukri Ghanem
* Abdel Rahman Shalgham
* Abdessalam Jalloud
* Ali Treki
* Imbarek Shamekh
* Nuri al-Mismari
* Mohammed Nabbous
* Iman al-Obeidi
* Prince Mohammed El Senussi
* Prince Idris bin Abdullah al-Senussi
* Hussein Sadiq al Musrati
* Mustafa Ben Halim
* Ihab Al-Mismari

Places, buildings
and structures|

* Abu Salim prison
* Bab al-Azizia
* Fist Crushing a U.S. Fighter Plane Sculpture
* Giuliana Bridge
* Green Square/Martyrs' Square
* Maydan al Shajara
* Mitiga International Airport
* People's Hall, Tripoli

Impact|

* Casualties
* Domestic responses
* Human rights violations
* Rape allegations
* Humanitarian situation
* Refugees
* International reactions
* International reactions to military intervention
* Protests against military intervention
* U.S. reactions to military intervention
* International reactions to Gaddafi's death
* Factional violence in Libya
* 2012 Benghazi attack
* 2014-2020 civil war
* Timeline
* Manchester Arena bombing
* Afriqiyah Airways Flight 209

Other|

* Belarus in Libyan conflict
* Democratic Party (Libya)
* Libyan Freedom and Democracy Campaign
* Media
* National Transitional Council
* Topple the Tyrants
* United Nations General Assembly Resolution 65/265
* United Nations Security Council Resolution 1970
* United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973
* United Nations Security Council Resolution 2009
* United Nations Security Council Resolution 2016
* Voice of Free Libya
* Zenga Zenga

* Italics denote operations or battles related to the military intervention in Libya
* Category
* Commons
* Wikinews
* Wikiquotes

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