Topic summary
Second Battle of Benghazi
Ali Sharif al-Rifi
8,000 defected soldiers (rebel claim)
Thousands of volunteers and militia
20 French fighter jets
- 261 killed
- MiG-23 shot down
50 captured;
70 vehicles destroyed:
14 tanks or SP howitzers, 20 APCs, 2 mobile MRLs, 1 mobile SAM and 33 jeeps, SUVs, technicals or trucks;
4 tanks captured
The Second Battle of Benghazi was fought between army units and militiamen loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, and anti-Gaddafi forces in Benghazi on 19-20 March 2011 during the Libyan Civil War. The battle marked the start of a United Nations-mandated military intervention in the conflict, with fighter jets from the French Air Force attacking and destroying several pro-Gaddafi units, forcing them to retreat.
On 18 March, Gaddafi's forces bypassed Ajdabiya by using the coastal roads instead of the roads directly linked with Ajdabiya, avoiding the need to capture Ajdabiya to proceed. By night the loyalist troops had positioned themselves within kilometres of Benghazi's two southern entry points, the western southern gate being called the west gate.