Douz skirmish

Douz skirmish
Part of 2011 Libyan civil war
Date 19 August 2011 - 20 August 2011 Location Douz, Tunisia Result Tactical Libyan victory, stragegically inconclusive
Belligerents
Tunisia Tunisian Army	/ Libyans, believed to be Gaddafi Loyalists Paramilitary forces
Strength
Unknown	At least eight vehicles
Casualties and losses
2 killed, several wounded	Unknown

The Douz skirmish was a conflict that began late on 19 August 2011, when Tunisian security intercepted armed men, suspected to be Libyan in vehicles in the Sahara desert.

Background

Exactly how the clashes came to be stands as somewhat of a mystery but tensions between Libya and Tunisia were high after the Battle of Wazzin in the Nafusa Mountains in which Libyans of both factions violated the Tunisian border with shells landing in Tunisian territory casusing Tunisian civilian casualties. Douz lies far from the Libyan border and the Libyan men didn't seem to intend to instigate any conflict so their motives still remain unknown.

Before the battle there had been no indication of any conflict on the horizon.

The Battle

Once the Tunisian police arrived on the scene, the men in the vehicles opened fire on them. Fighting reportedly lasted through the night, and ended on the morning of 20 August. Several Tunisian casualties were reported. Local residents stated that army reinforcements were called from nearby towns, and helicopters assisted in the battle as well. The battle was reported to have been a fairly intense firefight. The surrounding area was quickly courdoned off by Tunisian re-enforcements, some coming from as far away as Tunis. Two Tunisian soldiers were killed when their helicopter crashed during the operations in the border area.

The Libyans reportedly had at least eight vehicles, and were armed with "ultramodern" weapons. Their identity was unclear, but local residents believed them to be loyalist Gaddafi supporters. Although, it was suggested that they might not have represented either faction in the civil war.

Tunisian authorities reported that many of the Libyans escaped the skirmish. The Tunisians swept the area for them extensively yet came up with nothing, meaning that the Libyans involved are still at large and may have escaped back into Libya. Reports state that the Tunisian air force was called in to help with the search with residents claiming to have seem helicopters overhead. While the desert was being combed, one of the Tunisians was shot dead by an unknown assailant.

Douz lies in south-central Tunisia, far from the border with Libya.

This was the second clash with Tunisian forces during the Libyan conflict, the first being during the Battle of Wazzin.

Identity of the Attackers

Although it's generally agreed that the attackers were Libyan, their motives remain completely unknown. Despite rumours that they were Gaddafi loyalists, there is no evidence of this with some sources identifying them as rebels

Tunisian Reaction

The Tunisian authorities initially denied that there had been any casualties on their side although later admitted that they had lost men and a helicopter. Tunisian officials refused to comment on what if any faction the Libyans represented, admitting that they simply didn't know.

Aftermath

After the clashes, there was a lull, then at the beginning of September, locals caused a few small desturbances, resulting in one death and a city wide cerfew. Since then there have been no further incidents.

Although Douz itself has been calm, there has been another clash between Libyans and Tunisians in the 2011 Ras Ajdir clashes.

On October 6th, as the war was nearing it's end, one of Gaddafi's colonels was found to be hiding in Douz and was arrested, however no links were discovered between him and the skirmish. He was captured peacefully after he had been put under surveillance for 'suspicious behaviour' and was found to have come into Tunisia with false papers roughly a month before his capture. No weapons were found in the house he had rented and used as his hideout.