Sabha, Libya

Sabha
سبها
Sabhā
City
Sebha Bank from Kazem hotel (2010)
Sebha Bank from Kazem hotel (2010)
Sabha is located in Libya
Sabha
Sabha
Location in Libya
Coordinates: 27°02′20″N 14°25′35″E / 27.03889°N 14.42639°E / 27.03889; 14.42639
Country Libya
RegionFezzan
DistrictSabha
Elevation
420 m (1,380 ft)
Population
 (2012)[1]
 • Total
99,028
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
License Plate Code1

Sabha or Sebha /ˈsɛb.hɑː/ (Arabic: سَبْهَا, romanized: Sabhā) is an oasis city in southwestern Libya,[2] approximately 640 kilometres (400 mi) south of Tripoli.[3] It was historically the capital of the Fezzan region and the Fezzan-Ghadames Military Territory and is the capital of the Sabha District.[4] Sabha Air Base, south of the city, is a Libyan Air Force installation that is home to multiple MiG-25 aircraft.[5]

Sabha was where the erstwhile ruler of Libya, Muammar Gaddafi, grew up and received secondary education and where he also later became involved in political activism.[6] After the Libyan Civil War and the resultant instability in the country, Sabha reportedly grew in importance as a slave auctioning town.[7] However, an investigation by the National Commission for Human Rights in Libya (NCHRL) revealed that while there was illegal slavery, reports were exaggerated, as slave auctions were rare and not made public.[8] The city was seized by forces loyal to the Libyan National Army (LNA) and its leader Khalifa Haftar in January 2019,[9][10] but some politicians in the area switched their loyalty to the Government of National Accord (GNA) in May 2020.[11]

  1. ^ World Gazetteer. "Libya: largest cities and towns and statistics of their population". Archived from the original on 4 December 2012. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
  2. ^ Malcolm, Peter; Losleben, Elizabeth (2004). Libya. Marshall Cavendish. p. 10. ISBN 978-0-7614-1702-6.
  3. ^ Walt, Vivienne. "The Capture of Gaddafi's Son: The Reformer Who Refused to Reform Archived 2011-11-22 at the Wayback Machine." TIME. 19 November 2011. Retrieved 19 November 2011.
  4. ^ Francesca Davis DiPiazza (2006). Libya in Pictures. Twenty-First Century Books. ISBN 0-8225-2549-6.
  5. ^ Libya: Ministry of Defense: Air Force: Air Order of Battle Archived 30 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine GlobalSecurity.org
  6. ^ Blundy, David; Lycett, Andrew (1987). Qaddafi and the Libyan Revolution. Boston and Toronto: Little Brown & Co. ISBN 978-0-316-10042-7.
  7. ^ Graham-Harrison, Emma (10 April 2017). "Migrants from west Africa being 'sold in Libyan slave markets'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 22 June 2017. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference libyaobserver was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cherif, Youssef (8 April 2019). "How far can Haftar get with his Tripoli offensive?". Al Jazeera.
  10. ^ "Libya: Haftar's LNA Captures The Southern City Of Sabha". Al Shahid News. 29 January 2019. Archived from the original on 27 April 2020.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  11. ^ Golden, Rabia (5 May 2020). "Activists and officials from Sabha announce support to GNA". The Libya Observer.