Libyan civil war (2011)

First Libyan Civil War
Part of the Arab Spring and Libyan Crisis since 2011
From left to right: Armed pro-government supporters; Pro-government protesters gathered in Green Square, now known as Martyrs' Square; anti-Government protesters in Benghazi; Libyan rebels on a captured T-55 tank.
Date 17 February – 23 October 2011 (8 months, 1 week and 1 day) Location Libya Result NATO/Anti-Gaddafi victory Overthrow and collapse of the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Killing of Muammar Gaddafi and end of his rule over Libya on 20 October 2011 Start and continuation of the Libyan Crisis Assumption of interim control by National Transitional Council; remains in power until August 8, 2012 UN authorisation of NATO led military intervention Diplomatic recognition of NTC as sole governing authority for Libya by 105 countries, UN, EU, AL and AU Factional violence in the aftermath of the war leading to another civil war in 2014[7] Rise and spread of Madkhalism in Libya[8]
Belligerents
Anti-Gaddafi forces  Qatar[1][2][3] United Nations Security Council  NATO NATO Command US Air Force NATO members  Belgium  Bulgaria  Canada  Denmark  France  Greece  Italy  Netherlands  Norway[4]  Romania  Spain  Turkey  United Kingdom  United States Other countries  Jordan[5]  Qatar  Sweden  United Arab Emirates[6] Minor border clashes:  Tunisia Tunisian Army Tunisian Police	Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
Commanders and leaders
Mustafa Jalil[9] Omar El-Hariri[10] Jalal al-Digheily Khalifa Haftar Abdelhakim Belhaj Abdul Fatah Younis † Suleiman Mahmoud[11] Ali Attalah Obeidi † Hussein Darbouk † Ali al-Sallabi Sadiq Al-Ghariani Mohammed Ali Madani † Osama al-Juwaili Daou al-Salhine al-Jadak † Mustafa Bin Dardef † Abdel-Hakim al-Hasidi Ismail al-Salabi Abdullah Naker Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani Hamad bin Ali Al Attiyah Robert Gates Leon Panetta James G. Stavridis Ralph Jodice J.C.C. Bouchard[12]	Muammar Gaddafi † Saif al-Islam Gaddafi (POW) Khamis Gaddafi † Mutassim Gaddafi † Abdullah Senussi Saadi Gaddafi Saif al-Arab Gaddafi †[13] Abu-Bakr Yunis Jabr † Mansour Dhao (POW) Massoud Abdelhafid Mahdi al-Arabi (POW) Ali Kanna Khweldi Hameidi Ali Sharif al-Rifi Tayeb El-Safi Ahmed al-Gaddafi al-Qahsi † Tohami Khaled Salih Rajab al-Mismari Sayyid Gaddaf al-Dam (POW) Muftah Anaqrat † Hasan al-Kabir al-Gaddafi Mohammed Abdullah al-Senussi † Abdel Rahman Abdel Hamid (POW)
Units involved
National Transitional Council National Liberation Army Defected army units Tripoli Brigade Free Libyan Air Force NFSL Armed protesters Local militias Anti-Gaddafi tribes[14][15][1][2][3] Toubou Front for the Salvation of Libya Fighters from the Awlad Suleiman tribe Foreign mercenaries (alleged)[16][17] Foreign military advisors	Libyan Armed Forces Libyan Army Elements of the Khamis Brigade Libyan Navy Libyan Air Force Gaddafi Loyalists Paramilitary forces Libyan Police Pro-Gaddafi tribes and militias[14][15][18] Loyalists from the Warfalla, Magarha and Tuareg Tribes Foreign mercenaries (alleged)[19][20][21][22][23]
Strength
200,000 volunteers by war's end (NTC estimate)[24] International Forces: Numerous air and maritime forces (see here)	20,000[25]–50,000[26] soldiers & militiamen
Casualties and losses
5,904–6,626 killed (other estimates: see here)	3,309–4,227 soldiers killed (other estimates: see here)
Total casualties (including civilians): 30,000+ killed[27][28] 4,000 missing[28] 50,000 wounded[29] 7,000 captured [30] (other estimates: see here)
*Large number of loyalist or immigrant civilians, not military personnel, among those captured by rebels,[31] only an estimated minimum of 1,692+ confirmed as soldiers[32]

This article is part of a series about Muammar Gaddafi
Personal Early life and career Arab nationalism Nasserism Third International Theory The Green Book Escape to Hell Killing International reactions Reception and legacy Loyalism Affiliations Free Officers Arab Socialist Union Revolutionary Command Council General People's Committee Libya under Muammar Gaddafi Politics Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution Secretary General of the General People's Congress Chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council Prime Minister of Libya Chairperson of the African Union Military (Armed Forces) 1969 Libyan revolution Yom Kippur War Lebanese Civil War Egyptian–Libyan War Chadian–Libyan War Action in the Gulf of Sidra in 1986 1986 United States bombing of Libya Toyota War First Libyan Civil War NATO invasion of Libya Leadership (History) Libyan Arab Republic Federation of Arab Republics Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya 1970 expulsion of Italians from Libya 1973 oil crisis Cultural Revolution Weapons of mass destruction West Berlin discotheque bombing Lockerbie bombing UTA Flight 772 Support for rebel and paramilitary groups Elections and referendums 1971 Libyan Federation of Arab Republics referendum
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The Libyan civil war,^[33] also known as the First Libyan Civil War,^[34] 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.^[35][36] 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.^[37] The protests escalated into a rebellion that spread across the country,^[38] with the forces opposing Gaddafi establishing an interim governing body, the National Transitional Council.

The United Nations Security Council passed an initial resolution on 26 February, freezing the assets of Gaddafi and his inner circle and restricting their travel, and referred the matter to the International Criminal Court for investigation.^[39] In early March, Gaddafi's forces rallied, pushed eastwards and re-took several coastal cities before reaching Benghazi. A further UN resolution authorised member states to establish and enforce a no-fly zone over Libya, and to use "all necessary measures" to prevent attacks on civilians,^[40] which turned into a bombing campaign by the forces of NATO against Libyan military installations and vehicles. The Gaddafi government then announced a ceasefire, but fighting and bombing continued.^[41][42] Throughout the conflict, rebels rejected government offers of a ceasefire and efforts by the African Union to end the fighting because the plans set forth did not include the removal of Gaddafi.^[43]

In August, rebel forces launched an offensive on the government-held coast of Libya, backed by a wide-reaching NATO bombing campaign, taking back territory lost months before and ultimately capturing the capital city of Tripoli,^[44] while Gaddafi evaded capture and loyalists engaged in a rearguard campaign.^[45] On 16 September 2011, the National Transitional Council was recognised by the United Nations as the legal representative of Libya, replacing the Gaddafi government. Muammar Gaddafi evaded capture until 20 October 2011, when he was captured and killed in Sirte.^[46] The National Transitional Council declared "the liberation of Libya" and the official end of the war on 23 October 2011.^[47][48]

In the aftermath of the civil war, a low-level insurgency by former Gaddafi loyalists continued. There were various disagreements and strife between local militias and tribes, including fighting on 23 January 2012 in the former Gaddafi stronghold of Bani Walid, leading to an alternative town council being established and later recognized by the National Transitional Council (NTC).^[49][50] Madkhalism had become influential among many militias, leading to further division. A much greater issue had been the role of militias which fought in the civil war and their role in Libya's new dispensation. Some refused to disarm, and cooperation with the NTC had been strained, leading to demonstrations against militias and government action to disband such groups or integrate them into the Libyan military.^[51] These unresolved issues led directly to a second civil war in Libya.