The Battle of Gharyan was a battle in the

Libyan Civil War Demographics of Libya is the demography of Libya, specifically covering population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, and religious affiliations, as well as other aspects of the Libyan population. The ...

between rebel

anti-Gaddafi forces The anti-Gaddafi forces were Libyan groups that opposed and militarily defeated the government of Muammar Gaddafi, killing him in the process. These opposition forces included organized and armed militia groups, participants in the Libyan Civil ...

and forces loyal to

Muammar Gaddafi Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi, . Due to the lack of standardization of transcribing written and regionally pronounced Arabic, Gaddafi's name has been romanized in various ways. A 1986 column by ''The Straight Dope'' lists 32 spellin ...

for control of the

Tripolitania Tripolitania ( ar, طرابلس '; ber, Ṭrables, script=Latn; from Vulgar Latin: , from la, Regio Tripolitana, from grc-gre, Τριπολιτάνια), historically known as the Tripoli region, is a historic region and former province o ...

n city of

Gharyan Gharyan is a city in northwestern Libya, in Jabal al Gharbi District, located 80 km south of Tripoli. Prior to 2007, it was the administrative seat of Gharyan District. Gharyan is one of the largest towns in the Western Mountains. In 2005, ...

located at the eastern edge of the

Nafusa Mountains The Nafusa Mountains ( Berber: ''Adrar n Infusen'' (Nafusa Mountain), ar, جبل نفوسة (Western mountain)) are a mountain range in the western Tripolitania region of northwestern Libya. It also includes their regions around the escarpment f ...

Background

Following large scale protests across the country, what would soon become part of the organized opposition in Libya gained control over most of the Nafusa mountains. Gharyan was soon captured by the rebels however as part of the offensive to retake control of Libya from the rebels, Gaddafi quickly dispatched units to regain control. During the night between the 1 and 2 March, loyalist forces came into the town, under the cover of darkness. On the morning of 2 March, the rebels realised that the town was overrun by government troops. Soldiers had a list of opposition members and started to round up all of the rebels in Gharyan. Gharyan had been retaken by the government. Following the defeat of Gaddafi forces in

Yafran Yafran ( Berber: ⵢⴼⵔⴰⵏ ''Ifran'', ar, يفرن, links=https://www.temehu.com/Cities_sites/Yefren.htm ', it, Iefren), also spelled ''Jefren'', ''Yefren'', ''Yifran'', ''Yifrin'' or ''Ifrane'', is a city in northwestern Libya, in the J ...

and

Kikla Kikla ( ar, ككلة) is a town of approximately 10,000 inhabitants in Libya, most of whom are Berber (Amazigh) descent, and is approximately 150 kilometres south-west of the country's capital, Tripoli. It was also a battleground during the 201 ...

, rebel forces began to make preparations for an attack on Gharyan. On 6 July, Rebels captured Al-Qawalish and advanced on Asabah. However a Gaddafi counterattack was able to hold them back and temporarily recaptured Al-Qawalish.

The battle

On 13 August, rebel forces attacked Gharyan. It was reported that the rebels were initially successful as Gaddafi forces retreated, however they later regrouped and attacked. On 14 August, the Rebels stated that they controlled "70 percent" of the city. A fighter in

Al-Qawalish Al-Qawalish (also spelled Gwalish or Qwalish) is a village in the Nafusa Mountains of Libya, located about 113 km southwest of Tripoli and divide two parts west Al-Qawalish and Este Al-Qawalish and people numbers lives in this village abou ...

said he heard that loyalist troops were retreating from Gharyan. On 15 August, the rebels claimed they had "full control" of the city. A spokesman for the rebel military council in the

asserted, "Gharyan is fully in the hands of the revolutionaries. They crushed the Sahban Brigade, the main command center for Gaddafi in the Western Mountains. They took the brigade's heavy and light weapons." On 16 August, governmental spokesman

Moussa Ibrahim Moussa Ibrahim Gaddafi ( ar, موسى إبراهيم ; Romanization of Arabic, romanized also as ''Mussa'' and ''Musa'', born 7 December 1974) is a libyans, Libyan political figure who rose to international attention in 2011 as Muammar Gaddafi' ...

stated that governmental troops would soon retake Gharyan, implicitly supporting the rebel account that Gharyan had been taken.

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...

confirmed that Gharyan was in rebel hands, with rebel forces positioned in the city centre with a

T-34 The T-34 is a Soviet medium tank introduced in 1940. When introduced its 76.2 mm (3 in) tank gun was less powerful than its contemporaries while its 60-degree sloped armour provided good protection against Anti-tank warfare, anti-tan ...

tank. On 17 August, continued fighting in the city was reported. On 18 August, loyalists fully withdrew from the city, which was confirmed by a Reuters correspondent. The loyalists had retreated north to 'Aziziya.

Aftermath

On 15 August, rebels claimed to have moved south from Gharyan after the battle, and taken the military base of

Mizda Mizda or Mesdah (Tamazight: ⵎⵉⵣⴷⴰ, ''Mizda'') is a town in the Nafusa Mountains in Libya. It was the capital of the former Mizda District. Just to the west of Mizda is the Mizda Army Base at See also * List of cities in Libya ...

, gaining access to the Libyan Army's military supplies stored there.16:56 15 August entry at
/ref> Mizda lies near a strategic junction between roads to Gharyan,

Bani Walid Bani Walid (Anglicized: ; ar, بني وليد, Banī Walīd, Libyan pronunciation: ) is a city in Libya located in the Misrata District. Prior to 2007, it was the capital of Sof-Aljeen District. Bani Walid has an airport. Under the Libyan Ar ...

, and Sabha.

References

August 2011 events in Africa Battles in 2011 Conflicts in 2011 {{DEFAULTSORT:Gharyan, Battle of