The Fall of Nofaliya refers to the takeover of the town of

Nofaliya Nofaliya or Nawfaliya ( ar, النوفلية ''Nawfalīyah'') is a town in the desert in the Sirte District of Libya. It is west of Libya's major oil ports. It is located in the former Bin Jawad District, around 20 km west of Bin Jawad and 1 ...

in Sirte District,

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...

, by the self-declared

Islamic State An Islamic state is a State (polity), state that has a form of government based on sharia, Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical Polity, polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a t ...

in February 2015.

Events

On 8 February 2015, a convoy of 40 heavily armed

4WD Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...

vehicles drove 140 km from

Sirte Sirte (; ar, سِرْت, ), also spelled Sirt, Surt, Sert or Syrte, is a city in Libya. It is located south of the Gulf of Sirte, between Tripoli and Benghazi. It is famously known for its battles, ethnic groups, and loyalty to Muammar G ...

, where ISIL has a significant presence, into the town of Nofaliya. Some vehicles displayed the flag of ISIL, and the convoy reportedly included many foreign fighters. Upon their arrival, the fighters ordered Nofaliya's residents to "repent" and pledge allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The fighters appointed Ali Al-Qarqaa as

emir Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cerem ...

of the town. A day after Nofaliya was taken over, ISIL reinforced the entrances into the town to prevent sunrise attacks. A video of the takeover was also posted on the social media. According to ''

Libya Herald The ''Libya Herald'' ( ar, ليبيا هيرلد) is an English-language newspaper based in Tripoli, Libya, launched on 17 February 2012. Creation The ''Libya Herald'' was launched on 17 February 2012, the first anniversary of the outbreak of the ...

'', with Nofaliya under its control, ISIL would be able to control the Libyan Coastal Highway. As 16 February 2015, ISIL also controls the city of Derna,

, and has a presence in

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to: Cities and other geographic units Greece *Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...

and

Sabratha Sabratha ( ar, صبراتة, Ṣabrāta; also ''Sabratah'', ''Siburata''), in the Zawiya DistrictNew General National Congress The General National Congress or General National Council (GNC; ar, المؤتمر الوطني العام, Berber: Agraw Amuran Amatay) was the legislative authority of Libya for two years following the end of the First Libyan Civil War. It w ...

forces on 19 March 2015. However, after GNC retook Nofaliya, they withdrew from Nofaliya and bin Jawad on 20 March because of ISIL's offensive. They withdrew from there after only two days. ISIL is setting up checkpoints after they retook the city from GNC on 28 March. On 30 March, Al-Monitor reported that Nofaliya, Sirte, and Derna were still under the control of ISIL. Nofaliya was captured by pro-government forces on 31 May 2016.

References

{{Portal bar, Libya February 2015 events in Africa Military operations of the Second Libyan Civil War in 2015 Military operations of the Second Libyan Civil War involving the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant

Events

See also

References