The raid on Ras Lanuf was a

hit-and-run In traffic laws, a hit and run or a hit-and-run is the act of causing a traffic collision and not stopping afterwards. It is considered a supplemental crime in most jurisdictions. Additional obligation In many jurisdictions, there may be an ...

attack carried out in the early morning of 12 September 2011 by two groups of fighters loyal to Muammar Gaddafi in an apparently coordinated effort to disrupt oil refinery and export operations in the

National Transitional Council The National Transitional Council of Libya ( ar, المجلس الوطني الإنتقالي '), sometimes known as the Transitional National Council, was the ''de facto'' government of Libya for a period during and after the Libyan Civil War ...

-administered port town of

Ra's Lanuf Ras Lanuf ( ( ar, راس لانوف , also: ''Ra’s al-Unūf'' )) is a Mediterranean town in northern Libya, on the Gulf of Sidra. The town is also home to the Ra's Lanuf Refinery, completed in 1984, with a crude oil refining capacity of . The oil ...

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 the east, Suda ...

, during 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 ...

Sabotage attempt

According to Colonel Hamid Hassy, 15 people working at the oil terminal in Ra's Lanuf acted as arsonists, setting fire to the oil facility. They clashed with anti-Gaddafi security forces, and five were killed while the rest were arrested, Hasi said. ''

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'' was unable to confirm this series of events, which was initially reported by the

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Hit-and-run raid

Fadl-Allah Haroun, another anti-Gaddafi commander, reported that a convoy of up to 40 vehicles, reportedly flying the

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to appear friendly, apparently moving out of a refugee camp 30 km south of Ra's Lanuf attacked the port. He said that 10 pro-Gaddafi attackers were killed in the ensuing shootout, and the pro-Gaddafi forces were forced to retreat. A refinery worker's story differed slightly, saying 14 or 15 trucks carrying pro-Gaddafi fighters had come from the west, perhaps from the loyalist stronghold of Sirte, and attacked the refinery as its 60 staff members slept. There was also no mention of casualties among the attacking force. The fighting reportedly was heaviest around the administration building, with rocket attacks being launched against the refinery, but much of the complex was unscathed. A spokesman for the NTC said 15 to 17 anti-Gaddafi fighters were killed in the attack. There were no further reports of fighting in the city. Benghazi-based Colonel Ahmed Omar Bani said defenders in Ra's Lanuf reported the attackers "did not look like Libyans" and suggested they could be refugees paid to fight by well-monied Gaddafi loyalists.

References

Battles of the First Libyan Civil War Conflicts in 2011 September 2011 events in Africa Battles in 2011 {{DEFAULTSORT:Ras Lanuf