Yafran
Yafran
يفرن Yifrin, Yefren, Ifrane, Jefren | |
|---|---|
| Country | Libya |
| District | Al Jabal al Gharbi since 2007, Yafran 1998-2007 |
| Elevation | 699 m (2,293 ft) |
| Time zone | UTC + 2 |
| Area code | +218 421 |
Yafran (Arabic: يفرن Ifrin), also spelled Jefren, Yefren, Yifran, Yifrin or Ifrane, is a city in northwestern Libya, in Al Jabal al Gharbi District. Before 2007, Yafran was the administrative seat of the Yafran District.[1]
2011 Libyan civil war
On 6 April 2011, anti-government rebels from Nalut and Az Zintan entered Yafran and helped their allies fight against forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. Armed with Kalashnikov rifles, they were able to drive Gaddafi's forces from Yafran.[2] By late April, however, Gaddafi's forces intensified their siege and nearly recaptured the city. As of May 2011, Gaddafi's forces had shut down the water system and blocked food supplies[3] and held the western part of the town with some 500 rebels in the eastern section of Yafran still resisting.[4]
Yafran later fell to Gaddafi's forces with the centre of the town being used as a position for "government tanks, artillery guns and snipers". [5] On June 2, rebels retook the city center and started to clear the area of Gaddafi's forces. [6] On June 6, an on-site Reuters journalist reported that the pro-Gaddafi forces were nowhere to be seen in or around the town.[7]
Notes
- ^ " مدينةيفرن" ("Yafran District") Website of the General People's Committee of Libya, from Internet Archive dated 18 April 2006, in Arabic
- ^ April 6th Updates | Libya February 17th
- ^ People of Yafran, besieged by pro-Gaddafi forces, facing starvation | Libya TV
- ^ Libyan begs NATO to save his small town
- ^ Major Front Forms in Libya's Mountains - WSJ.com
- ^ Rebels in western Libya seize mountain towns in push toward Tripoli « Shabab Libya
- ^ Al Jazeera, Libya Live Blog, June 6
External links
- "Yafran, Libya", Falling Rain Genomics, Inc.
- "Yafran Map — Satellite Images of Yafran", Maplandia
32°03′46″N 12°31′36″E / 32.0629°N 12.5267°E
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