Libyan civil war (2011)

2011 Libyan civil war الحرب الأهليّة في ليبيّا عام 2011
Part of the Arab Spring
● Cities controlled by pro-Gaddafi forces ● Cities controlled by the opposition (supported by coalition forces) ● Ongoing fighting/unclear situation (situation as of 22 June 2011)
Date 15 February 2011 – present Location Libya Status Ongoing
Belligerents
National Transitional Council National Liberation Army Free Libyan Air Force Anti-Gaddafi tribes UN member states enforcing UNSC Resolution 1973: NATO Jordan Qatar Sweden UAE Template:Collapsible bulletlist	Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Libyan Armed Forces Libyan Army Libyan Air Force Libyan Navy Foreign mercenaries
Commanders and leaders
Mustafa Abdul Jalil Omar El-Hariri Mahmoud Jibril Abdul Fatah Younis Abdul Hafiz Ghoga Suleiman Mahmoud Khalifa Belqasim Haftar Khalid Shahmah Anders Fogh Rasmussen James G. Stavridis Charles Bouchard Carter Ham Rinaldo Veri	Muammar Gaddafi Muammar Gaddafi's sons: Saif al-Islam Gaddafi Khamis al-Gaddafi Al-Mu'tasim-Billah al-Gaddafi Al-Saadi al-Gaddafi Current Generals (outside the immediate Gaddafi family): Abdullah Senussi Abu-Bakr Yunis Jabr Massoud Abdelhafid Mahdi al-Arabi Khouidli Hamidi Rafi al-Sharif Awad Hamza Bashir Hawadi Mustafa al-Kharoubi Nasr al-Mabrouk
Strength
Approximately 17,000 volunteers by 24 March (1,000 trained men by 23 March) International Forces: Numerous air and maritime forces (see here)	10,000–20,000+ soldiers, unknown number of militia
Casualties and losses
2,390-3,085 opposition fighters, activists and supporters killed, 1,618-3,144 missing (see here) 1 USAF MQ-8 3 Dutch Marines captured (later released) 1 Royal Netherlands Navy Lynx captured 1 USAF F-15E crashed 1 UAEAF F-16 damaged upon landing	1,427-1,673 soldiers killed (see here), 545+ captured
Estimated total killed on both sides including civilians: 13,000

The 2011 Libyan civil war (Template:Lang-ar / ALA-LC: al-ḥarb al-ahlīyah fī Lībiyā ‘ām 2011) is an ongoing armed conflict in the North African state of Libya being fought between forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi and his regime and those seeking to depose him. The situation began on 15 February 2011 as a series of peaceful protests which were met with violent responses by the Gaddafi regime. The protests escalated into an uprising that spread across the country, with the forces opposing Gaddafi establishing a government based in Benghazi named the National Transitional Council whose goal is to overthrow the Gaddafi led government and hold democratic elections.

The United Nations Security Council passed an initial resolution freezing the assets of Gaddafi and ten members of his inner circle, and restricting their travel. The resolution also referred the actions of the government to the International Criminal Court for investigation, and an arrest warrant for Gaddafi was issued on June 27. In early March, Gaddafi's forces rallied, pushed eastwards and re-took several coastal cities before attacking Benghazi. A further U.N. resolution authorized member states to establish and enforce a no-fly zone over Libya. The Gaddafi government then announced a ceasefire, but failed to uphold it.

According to officials which have defected from the Gaddafi regime, The Libyan Army is suffering massive defections and is only at 20% of its original fighting capacity. NATO Forces have intensified their operations in Libya and are employing attack helicopters in addition to their original commitment of fighter jets and naval vessels, but NATO members maintain that they will not place ground troops inside Libya. Gaddafi's forces, particularly amongst the foreign mercenaries, are reported by Libyan civilians to have widely used rape as a weapon of war, and by doing so they have infected some alleged victims with HIV.

Background

Main article: History of Libya under Gaddafi

Leadership

Muammar Gaddafi has been the de-facto ruler of all Libya since the overthrow of King Idris I in 1969. WikiLeaks' disclosure of confidential US diplomatic cables has revealed US diplomats there speaking of Gaddafi's "mastery of tactical maneuvering". While placing relatives and loyal members of his tribe in central military and government positions, he has skillfully marginalized supporters and rivals, thus maintaining a delicate balance of powers, stability and economic developments. This extends even to his own children, as he changes affections to avoid the rise of a clear successor and rival.

Development: successes and corruption

Oil is the major resource of Libya with estimated reserves of 43.6 billion barrels.

Much of the state's income comes from its oil production, which soared in the 1970s, was spent on arms purchases and on sponsoring militancy around the world. Its petroleum revenues contributes up to 58% of Libya's GDP. Governments with resource curse revenue have a lower need for taxes from other industries and consequently feel less pressure to develop their middle class. To calm down opposition, they can use the income from natural resources to offer services to the population, or to specific government supporters. Libya's oil wealth being spread over a relatively small population has allowed for a relatively high living standard compared to neighbouring states. Gaddafi amassed a vast personal fortune during his 42-year rule.

Libya's purchasing power parity (PPP) GDP per capita in 2010 was US $14,878, €12,000; its human development index in 2010 was 0.755; and its literacy rate in 2009 was 87%. These numbers were better than in Egypt and Tunisia, whose revolutions preceded the outbreak of protests in Libya. Libyan citizens were considered to be well-educated and to have a high standard of living. The average income among Libyan citizens was US$12,000, €7,500 per year. This specific situation creates a wider contrast between good education, high demand for democracy, and the government's practices (perceived corruption, political system, supply of democracy).

Libya's corruption perception index in 2010 was 2.2, which was worse than that of Egypt and Tunisia, two neighbouring states that had uprisings preceding Libya's.

According to The Economist, the eastern parts of the state, once a breadbasket of the ancient world, fared badly.

An estimated 20.74% of Libyan citizens were unemployed, and about one-third lived below the national poverty line. More than 16% of families had none of its members earning a stable income, while 43.3% had just one. Despite one of the highest unemployment rates in the region, there was a consistent labor shortage with over a million migrant workers present on the market. These migrant workers formed the bulk of the refugees leaving Libya after the beginning of hostilities.

The civil war has been viewed as a part of the Arab Spring, which have already resulted in the ousting of long-term presidents of adjacent Tunisia and Egypt, with the initial protests all using similar slogans. Social media played an important role in organizing the opposition.

Human rights violations in Libya

File:Bengasi court tribune 0833.jpg

Tribune near the Benghazi court house, a central place for the Free Libya movement

Further information: Human rights in Libya and Human rights violations in the 2011 Libyan civil war

The regime executed opposition activists publicly and rebroadcasted the executions on state television channels. Engaging in political conversations with foreigners is a crime in Libya. During late 1980s and early 1990s western languages were removed from the school curriculum. The country suffered from a lack of qualified Libyan teachers, female attendance at the secondary level and above was low, and attempts in the late 1970s to close private schools and to integrate religious and secular instruction had led to confusion. Libya's intelligence service conducted assassinations of Libyan dissidents around the world, and the government placed bounties for the killings of its critics... According to the U.S. State Department, 10 to 20 per cent of Libyans were involved in domestic surveillance committees, a proportion of informants on par with Saddam Hussein's Iraq or Kim Jong-il's North Korea. Dissent is illegal under Law 75 of 1973 and Gaddafi has asserted that anyone guilty of founding a political party would be executed. According to the 2009 Freedom of the Press Index, Libya is the most-censored state in the Middle East and North Africa.

Anti-Gaddafi movement, beginnings of National Transitional Council

Main article: Timeline of the 2011 Libyan civil war

The flag of the former Kingdom of Libya. It, or modified versions, has been used by many protesters as an opposition flag.

Beginnings of open protest

Between 13 and 16 January, upset at delays in the building of housing units and over political corruption, protesters in Darnah, Benghazi, Bani Walid and other cities broke into and occupied housing that the government was building. By 27 January, the government had responded to the housing unrest with a US$24 billion, €20 billion investment fund to provide housing and development. In late January, Jamal al-Hajji, a writer, political commentator and accountant, "call[ed] on the Internet for demonstrations to be held in support of greater freedoms in Libya" inspired by the Tunisian and Egyptian uprisings. He was arrested on 1 February by plain-clothes police officers, and charged on 3 February with injuring someone with his car. Amnesty International claimed that because al-Hajji had previously been imprisoned for his non-violent political opinions, the real reason for the present arrest appeared to be his call for demonstrations. In early February, Gaddafi, on behalf of the Jamahiriya, met with political activists, journalists, and media figures and warned them that they would be held responsible if they disturbed the peace or created chaos in Libya.

Uprising and civil war

A girl in Benghazi with a placard calling for a united, democratic Libya, 23 February 2011

The protests, unrest and confrontations began in earnest on 15 February 2011. On the evening of 15 February, between 500 and 600 demonstrators protested in front of the police headquarters in Benghazi after the arrest of human rights lawyer Fathi Terbil. The protest was broken up violently by police, resulting in 38 injured, among them ten security personnel. The novelist Idris Al-Mesmari was arrested hours after giving an interview with Al Jazeera about the police reaction to protests. In Al Bayda and Az Zintan, hundreds of protesters in each town called for an end of the Gaddafi regime and set fire to police and security buildings. In Az Zintan, the protesters set up tents in the town centre. The protests continued the following day in Benghazi, Darnah and Al Bayda. Libyan security responded with lethal force. Four demonstrators were killed and three wounded. Hundreds gathered at Maydan al-Shajara in Benghazi, and authorities tried to disperse protesters with water cannons.

A "Day of Rage" in Libya and by Libyans in exile was planned for 17 February. The National Conference for the Libyan Opposition asked that all groups opposed to the Gaddafi regime protest on 17 February, in memory of demonstrations in Benghazi five years earlier. The plans to protest were inspired by the 2010–2011 Tunisian and Egyptian uprisings. Protests took place in Benghazi, Ajdabiya, Darnah, Az Zintan, and Al Bayda. Libyan security forces fired live ammunition into the protests, including .50 caliber sniper ammunition. Some of the gunfire came from helicopters. Protesters torched a number of government buildings, including a police station. In Tripoli, protesters managed to burn security buildings and the People's Hall.

Organization

Libyan Boy Scouts helping in the social services in Benghazi

See also: National Transitional Council

Many opposition participants have called for a return to the 1952 constitution and a transition to multi-party democracy. Military units who have joined the rebellion and many volunteers have formed an army to defend against Jamahiriya attacks and to work to bring Tripoli under the influence of Jalil. In Tobruk, volunteers turned a former headquarters of the regime into a centre for helping protesters. Volunteers reportedly guard the port, local banks and oil terminals to keep the oil flowing. Teachers and engineers have set up a committee to collect weapons.

The National Transitional Council (Arabic: المجلس الوطني الانتقالي, al-Majlis al-Waṭanī al-'intiqālī) was established on 27 February in an effort to consolidate efforts for change in the rule of Libya. The main objectives of the group did not include forming an interim government, but instead to coordinate resistance efforts between the different towns held in rebel control, and to give a political "face" to the opposition to present to the world. The Benghazi-based opposition government has called for a no-fly zone and airstrikes against the Jamahiriya. The council refers to the Libyan state as the Libyan Republic and it now has a website. Former Jamahiriya Justice Minister Mustafa Abdel Jalil said in February that the new government will prepare for elections and they could be held in three months. On 29 March the political and international affairs committee of the Council presented its eight-point plan for Libya in The Guardian newspaper, stating they would hold free and fair elections and draft a national constitution.

An independent newspaper called Libya appeared in Benghazi, as well as rebel-controlled radio stations. Some of the rebels oppose tribalism and wear vests bearing slogans such as "No to tribalism, no to factionalism". Libyans have said that they have found abandoned torture chambers and devices that have been used in the past.

Composition of rebel forces

The rebels are composed primarily of civilians, such as teachers, students, lawyers, and oil workers, and a contingent of professional soldiers that defected from the Libyan Army and joined the rebels. Gaddafi's administration had repeatedly asserted that the rebels included al-Qaeda fighters. NATO commander Admiral Stavridis stated that intelligence reports suggested "flickers" of al-Qaeda activity were present among the rebels, but also added that there is not sufficient information to confirm there is any significant al-Qaeda or terrorist presence. Denials of al-Qaeda membership were issued by the rebels.

Gaddafi's response

Gaddafi has accused his opponents as those who have been influenced by hallucinogenic drugs put in drinks and pills. He has specifically referred to substances in milk, coffee and Nescafé. He has claimed that Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda are distributing these hallucinogenic drugs. He has also blamed alcohol. He later also claimed that the revolt against his rule is the result of a colonialist plot by foreign states, particularly blaming France, the United States, and the United Kingdom, to control oil and enslave the Libyan people. Gaddafi referred to the protesters as "cockroaches" and "rats", and vowed not to step down and to cleanse Libya house by house until the insurrection was crushed. Gaddafi declared that people who don't "love" him "do not deserve to live". Gaddafi called himself a "warrior", and vowed to fight on and die a "martyr", and urged his supporters to leave their homes and attack protesters "in their lairs". Gaddafi claimed that he had not yet ordered the use of force, and threatened that "everything will burn" when he did. Responding to demands that he step down, Gaddafi claimed that he could not step down, as he held a purely symbolic position like Queen Elizabeth, and that the people were in power.

A Swedish arms trafficking watchdog organization observed flights between Tripoli and Belarus, including visits to a dedicated Belorussian military base that only handles stockpiled weaponry and military equipment. Pro-Gaddafi forces have allegedly used civilians to protect key sites, like the Bab al-Azizia compound in Tripoli, from air strikes.

Blocking of communications and media

See also: Iman al-Obeidi

Gaddafi shut down all Internet communications in Libya, and arrested Libyans who had given phone interviews to the media. International journalists were banned by the Libyan authorities from reporting from Libya except by invitation of the Gaddafi government. On 21 February, The New York Times reported that Gaddafi had tried to impose a blackout on information from Libya. Several residents reported that cellphone service was down, and even landline phone service was sporadic.

A case of censorship that received widespread international and domestic attention was that of Libyan postgraduate student Iman al-Obeidi, who was detained by government soldiers for two days over her eastern Libyan accent, and was repeatedly raped, beaten, and urinated and defecated upon. Following her release, Obeidi entered the restaurant area of the Rixos Hotel in Tripoli and told foreign journalists of her ordeal. Security forces arrested her and used violence against journalists who tried to intervene. The government initially portrayed her as a mentally ill prostitute, but later changed its story to claim that she was sane and able to withstand legal proceedings. Obeidi was held for another three days before being released. Obeidi's mother claimed that during the ordeal, her family had received phone calls offering them bribes to reject their her claims and tell her to change her story.

International journalists who have attempted to cover the events have been attacked by Gaddafi's forces. A BBC News crew was beaten and then lined up against a wall by Gaddafi's soldiers, who then shot next to a journalist's ear and laughed at them. A journalist working for The Guardian and another Brazilian journalist have been detained. An Al-Jazeera journalist Ali Hassan al-Jaber was murdered, and was apparently deliberately targeted. Gaddafi's soldiers held four New York Times journalists – Lynsey Addario, Anthony Shadid, Stephen Farrell and Tyler Hicks – in captivity for a week. Libyan citizen journalist Mohammed Nabbous was shot in the head by Gaddafi's soldiers soon after exposing the Gaddafi regime's false reports related to the cease-fire declaration.

Mercenaries

Soon after Gaddafi's government started to use force against demonstrators, it became apparent that some Libyan military units refused to shoot protesters, and Gaddafi had hired foreign mercenaries to do the job. Gaddafi's ambassador to India Ali al-Essawi confirmed that the defections of military units had indeed led to such a decision. Video footage of this started to leak out of the country. Gaddafi's former Chief of Protocol Nouri Al Misrahi stated in an interview with the Al Jazeera that Nigerien, Malian, Chadian and Kenyan mercenaries are among foreign soldiers helping fight the uprising on behalf of Gaddafi. Defecting Libyan Deputy Ambassador Ibrahim Dabbashi called on African nations to stop sending mercenaries to defend the Gaddafi regime.

In Mali, members of the Tuareg tribe confirmed that a large number of men, about 5,000, from the tribe went to Libya in late February. Locals in Mali said they were promised $10,000, €7,500 upfront payment and compensation up to $1000, €750 per day. Gaddafi has used Malian Tuaregs in his political projects before, sending them to fight in places like Chad, Sudan and Lebanon and recently they have fought against Niger government, a war which Gaddafi has allegedly sponsored. Malian government officials told BBC that it's hard to stop the flow of fighters from Mali to Libya. A recruitment center for Malian soldiers leaving to Libya was found in a Bamako hotel.

Reports from Ghana state that the men who went to Libya were offered as much as $2500, €1950 per day. Advertisements seeking mercenaries were seen in Nigeria. One group of mercenaries from Niger, who had been allegedly recruited from the streets with promises of money, included a soldier of just 13 years of age. The Daily Telegraph studied the case of a sixteen-year-old captured Chadian child soldier in Al-Bayda. The boy, who had previously been a shepherd in Chad, told that a Libyan man had offered him a job and a free flight to Tripoli, but in the end he had been airlifted to shoot opposition members in Eastern Libya.

The Serbian newspaper Alo! stated that Serbs were hired to help Gaddafi in the early days of the conflict. Rumors of Serbian pilots participating on the side of Gaddafi appeared early in the conflict. In response to these allegations, the Serbian Defence Ministry denied that any of its active or retired personnel were participating in the events in Libya.

A Belarusian told the Russian newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda that he and several hundred others from Belarus had been recruited to advise Gaddafi's forces before the civil war and most of them left since then, but some preferred to stay. According to the newspaper report, published in early April, the Belarusian advisers were paid about US$3,000, €2,450 per month, did not participate in combat, but crafted strategies to help Gaddafi's brigades avoid decimation by the NATO-led coalition's air assault.

On 7 April, Reuters reported that soldiers loyal to Gaddafi were sent into refugee camps to intimidate and bribe black African migrant workers into fighting for the regime during the war. Some of these "mercenaries" were compelled to fight against their wishes, according to a source inside one of the refugee camps.

A person associated with Human Rights Watch reported in early March that he had not seen evidence of mercenary activity in the country. He verified earlier accounts that 156 Mercenaries were captured in El Bayda and discovered that all of them were black Libyans.

According to the EUobserver, Gaddafi's government hired between 300 and 500 mercenaries of European origin at high wages. These rumours are not confirmed by other sources.

According to numerous eyewitness accounts, mercenaries were more willing to kill demonstrators than Libyan forces were, and earned a reputation as among the most brutal forces employed by the regime. A doctor in Benghazi said of the mercenaries that "they know one thing: to kill whose in front of them. Nothing else. They're killing people in cold blood".

During manhunts for Gaddafi loyalists in rebel areas, numerous blacks were arrested and imprisoned or executed as mercenaries. However, the rebels later acknowledged that most of them were in reality immigrant foreign workers. A UN Commission on Libya interviewed three foreign nationals detained in Benghazi and could not confirm that they took part in hostilities. The commission also found that blacks who took part in hostilities were referred to as "mercenaries", even though a large part of Libya's population is black.

Treatment of protests

The Libyan government employed snipers, artillery, helicopter gunships, warplanes, anti-aircraft weaponry, and warships against demonstrations and funeral processions, and security forces repeatedly fired at protesters with live ammunition. Amnesty International reported that writers, intellectuals and other prominent opposition sympathizers disappeared during the early days of the conflict in Gaddafi-controlled cities, and that they may have been subjected to torture or execution. Amnesty International also reported that security forces targeted paramedics helping injured protesters. In multiple incidents, Gaddafi's forces were documented using ambulances in their attacks. Injured demonstrators were sometimes denied access to hospitals and ambulance transport. The government also banned giving blood transfusions to people who had taken part in the demonstrations. Security forces, including members of Gaddafi's Revolutionary Committees, stormed hospitals and removed the dead. Injured protesters were either summarily executed or had their oxygen masks, IV drips, and wires connected to the monitors removed. The dead and injured were piled into vehicles and taken away, possibly for cremation. Doctors were prevented from documenting the numbers of dead and wounded, but an orderly in a Tripoli hospital morgue estimated to the BBC that 600–700 protesters were killed in Green Square in Tripoli on 20 February. The orderly claimed that ambulances brought in three or four corpses at a time, and that after the ice lockers were filled to capacity, bodies were placed on stretchers or the floor, and that "it was in the same at the other hospitals".

Military commanders summarily executed soldiers who refused to fire on protesters. The International Federation for Human Rights reported a case where 130 soldiers were executed. Some of the soldiers executed by their commanders were burned alive.

Gaddafi suppressed the protests in Tripoli by distributing automobiles, money and weapons for hired followers to drive around Tripoli and attack people showing signs of dissent. Snipers, mercenaries, and combat aircraft were also used against demonstrations. The International Federation for Human Rights concluded that Gaddafi is implementing a strategy of scorched earth and seeks to eliminate and suppress Libyan citizens who stood up against his regime. In Tripoli, "death squads" of mercenaries and Revolutionary Committees members patrolled the streets, and shot people who tried to take the dead off the streets or gather in groups.

In late April, United States Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice alleged that soldiers loyal to Gaddafi were given the potency drug Viagra and encouraged to commit rapes in rebel-held or disputed areas. The allegations surfaced in an Al Jazeera report the previous month from Libya-based doctors, who claimed to have found Viagra in the pockets of government soldiers. Human rights groups and aid workers had previously documented rapes by loyalist fighters during the war, including the rape of children. Some of the children raped were as young as eight. Aid workers reported that some children were being forced to watch their mothers raped and their fathers killed, before being beaten. In Misrata, a rebel spokesman claimed that government soldiers had committed a string of sexual assaults in Benghazi Street before being pushed out by rebels. A doctor claimed that two young sisters were raped by five African mercenaries after their brothers joined the rebels. According to aid workers, four young girls were abducted and held for four days, and were possibly sexually assaulted. According to a doctor who distributed a questionnaire to 70,000 Libyan refugee families, 259 women reported that they had been raped by Gaddafi's soldiers. One woman claimed that she had been raped in front of her tied-up husband and brother-in-law and that her husband was then killed, while another claimed to have been raped in front of her four children. Doctors in Benghazi claimed to have heard of rapes, but not to have encountered any victims, while a doctor in Ajdabiya claimed to have encountered three women who had been raped during fighting there in March. Some of the rape victims were reportedly infected with HIV.

International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo estimated that 500–700 people were killed by security forces in February 2011, before the rebels took up arms. According to Moreno-Ocampo, "shooting at protesters was systematic".

Alleged paid pro-Gaddafi protesters

After the uprising began, Libyan students studying in the United States received phone calls from the Libyan embassy, instructing them to participate in pro-Gaddafi rallies. They were threatened with losing their government-funded scholarships if they refused. The Libyan ambassador denied the claims.

Battles between government and opposition

Main article: Timeline of the 2011 Libyan civil war

File:Libya Brega rebel fighters 10 March 2011 - VOA Ittner.jpg

Rebels on the outskirts of Brega

Active resistance to the government began in Benghazi on 18 February, after three days of protests. Security forces had killed 14 protesters the previous day, and a funeral procession for one of those killed passed the Katiba compound, where clashes erupted. Demonstrators threw rocks at security forces, who used live ammunition, killing 24 protesters. Two of the policemen who had participated in the clash were caught and hanged by the opposition. Protesters around the city and in nearby al-Baida and Darnah attacked and overwhelmed government forces, and some police and army units defected and joined the protesters. Security forces were overwhelmed and forced to withdraw. By the end of the day, the area was almost entirely in opposition hands, with the only place still housing a significant number of Gaddafi loyalists being the Katiba compound in Benghazi. On 19 February, another funeral procession passed the compound, and were again fired on. By this time, the Libyan government airlifted 325 African mercenaries to Benghazi and other eastern towns, but were met with retaliatory attacks by opposition forces. Fifty mercenaries were killed by protesters in al-Baida, with some being locked up in a police station which was then burned down, while 15 were lynched in front of the al-Baida courthouse. At least 236 others were captured alive. Meanwhile, opposition forces commandeered bulldozers and tried to breach the walls of the Katiba compound, but were met with withering fire. Protesters also used stones and crude bombs made of tin cans stuffed with gunpowder. As the fighting continued, a mob attacked an army base on the outskirts of Benghazi and disarmed the soldiers. Among the equipment confiscated was three small tanks, which were rammed into the compound. The fighting stopped on 20 February, and another 30 people had been killed during the previous 24 hours of fighting. By this time, violent clashes also broke out in Misrata between government forces and demonstrators. A third funeral procession passed the compound, and under the cover of the funeral, a suicide car-bomber destroyed the compound's gates, and opposition fighters resumed their assault, bolstered by reinforcements from al-Baida and Derna. During the final assault, 42 people were killed. Libyan Interior Minister Abdul Fatah Younis showed up with a special forces squad to relieve the compound, but Younis defected to the opposition and announced safe passage for loyalists out of the city. Gaddafi's troops retreated after executing 130 soldiers who had refused to fire on the rebels. On 23 February, after five days of fighting, rebels also drove out government forces from Misrata. The following day, Gaddafi loyalists attempted to retake Misrata Airport, but were driven back. Officers from a nearby Air Force Academy also mutinied and helped the opposition attack an adjacent military airbase, then disabled fighter jets at the base.

Demonstrators on an abandoned T-54/55 tank during a rally in Benghazi

By 23 February, headlines in online news services were reporting a range of themes underlining the precarious state of the regime – former justice minister Mustafa Mohamed Abud Al Jeleil alleged that Gaddafi personally ordered the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, resignations and defections of close allies, the loss of Benghazi, the second largest city in Libya, reported to be "alive with celebration" and other cities including Tobruk and Misrata reportedly falling with some reports that the government retained control of just a few pockets, mounting international isolation and pressure, and reports that Middle East media consider the end of his regime all but inevitable. By the end of February, Gaddafi's government had lost control of a significant part of Libya, including the major cities of Misrata and Benghazi, and the important harbors at Ra's Lanuf and Brega. On the same day, rebels in Darnah killed 13 loyalists, and lost 2 dead.

In Tripoli, clashes between demonstrators and security forces took place in the center of the city, according to Al Jazeera. A doctor claimed that government forces had fired on protesters in the city. Crowds of protesters threw rocks at billboards of Gaddafi, and troops attacked them with tear gas and live fire. A resident claimed that armed security forces were positioned on rooftops surrounding Green Square, and about 200 lawyers and judges demonstrated inside a Tripoli courthouse, which was surrounded by security forces.

In Tripoli, clashes between demonstrators and security forces reportedly took place in the central part of the city, and involved thousands of people. According to a doctor, security forces fired on protesters with live ammunition. Crowds in the city threw rocks at billboards of Gaddafi, and troops attacked them with tear gas and live fire. According to a resident, armed security forces were positioned on rooftops surrounding Green Square, and surrounded a courthouse where about 200 lawyers and judges were demonstrating.

On 24 February, loyalist forces in Az Zawiyah fired on a mosque where protesters were holding a sit-in, and were fired on with automatic weapons and an anti-aircraft gun. Afterward's, thousands of people rallied in Martyr's Square. The same day, government forces, including tanks, launched a counterattack on Misrata airbase, engaging in battles with local residents and defecting military units, and managed to retake part of it. On 26 February, government forces fired on rebels and Egyptian migrant workers. By this point, security forces still controlled the outskirts, while rebels controlled the city. 24 rebels had been killed during the previous days of fighting. On 28 February, Gaddafi forces attacked the outskirts of the city, but were repelled, and lost 10 dead and 12–14 captured, of which eight joined the rebels. The town of Nalut, on the Tunisian border, also fell to the opposition forces. On 2 March, government forces attempted to recapture the oil port town of Brega, but the attack failed and they retreated to Ra's Lanuf. On the night on 2 March, rebels attacked government lines outside Az Zawiyah, killing two soldiers. Rebel forces advanced following their victory and on 4 March, the opposition captured Ra's Lanuf. On the same day, government troops started a full-scale assault on Zawiyah, beginning with airstrikes and a fierce mortar, artillery, rocket, anti-aircraft, and heavy machine gun barrage, and attacked the city from two sides, and managed to push into the city towards the city center. The rebels lost 50 dead and about 300 wounded, while the loyalists lost 2 dead. On 5 March, government forces were beaten back when they attempted to take the city center. Loyalist forces launched a fresh assault starting with a mortar barrage, and then attacked the city with infantry and 20 tanks. Soldiers stormed numerous buildings and killed the people inside to secure the rooftops for snipers. The loyalists initially managed to take the central square, but were forced back by a rebel counterattack several hours later. During the battle, 25 rebels and 8 loyalists were killed. In the late afternoon, another government attack supported by an artillery barrage was stopped, but loyalists managed to secure the hospital. 10 loyalist soldiers were captured during the battle and later executed.

On 6 March, the rebel advance along the coastline was stopped by government forces in Bin Jawad. Government troops ambushed the rebel column and dozens of rebels were killed or wounded. The rebels were forced into a chaotic retreat, leaving some of their troops behind, and a rescue force was repulsed by artillery fire. As the rebels retreated, they were hit by airstrikes. When they regrouped, they moved up several multiple rocket launchers from Ra's Lanuf and engaged in an artillery duel. At least one government soldier was killed during the battle, and a helicopter was shot down. At the same time, loyalist airstrikes hit a rebel-held airbase in Ra's Lanuf, killing at least two and injuring 40. The rebels managed to establish their front line three kilometers from Bin Jawad. At the same time, Gaddafi's forces attempted an attack on Misrata and managed to get as far as the centre of the city before their attack was halted by rebel forces, and they retreated to the city's outskirts. A fourth attack against the Az Zawiyah city center was launched by government troops, but it too was repulsed. Three rebels and 26 loyalists were killed, and 11 loyalists were captured. On 9 March, rebels attempted to retake Bin Jawad, but were forced back by artillery and airstrikes.

Gaddafi counteroffensive

On 6 March, the Gaddafi regime launched a counteroffensive, retaking Ra's Lanuf and Brega, pushing towards Ajdabiya and Benghazi. Government forces also attempted to take Misrata, sending infantry and armor into the city. The loyalist forces fell into a rebel ambush after they reached the city center. In the subsequent battle, 21 rebels and civilians and 22 government soldiers were killed. A fifth government attack against rebels in Az Zawiyah produced gains, and by 8 March, most of the city had been destroyed. During the night, rebels managed to retake the square, but the following day, they were met with a fifth counterattack. During the evening, a force of 60 rebels slipped out of the city to assault a military base, but none returned. Gaddafi remained in continuous control of Tripoli, Sirt, Zliten and Sabha, as well as several other cities. On 9 March, Az Zawiyah was almost completely under control, but rebels managed to drive them from the square during fighting in which 40 rebels and several loyalists were killed. On 10 March, government forces retook Az Zawiyah and Ra's Lanuf, supported by tanks, artillery, warplanes, and warships. Witnesses claimed that dozens of rebels were killed. Thousands of residents were subsequently questioned, with Gaddafi forces reportedly arresting anyone on the slightest suspicion of sympathy for the rebels. However, small teams of rebels continued to operate in Az Zawiyah, launching hit-and-run attacks against loyalists, reportedly killing dozens of soldiers. On 12 March, loyalist forces launched another attack against Misrata, and were led by the elite Khamis Brigade. The force reportedly managed to fight to within 10–15 kilometers from the city center. The attack stalled, however, after 32 soldiers, reportedly including a general, defected and joined the rebels. The next day, loyalist forces were still advancing fighting rebels on the outskirts, while tank shelling hit the city. On 13 March, regime forces attacked Brega and managed to retake most of the city. By 14 March, loyalists held the oil facilities and rebels held the residential districts. By 15 March, rebel forces had been cleared out and were retreating towards Ajdabiya. The rebels lost 7 killed during the battle, and claimed that loyalist casualties stood at 25 killed and 71 captured. On 14 March, loyalist forces also retook Zuwarah. Four rebels were killed during the battle.

Ajdabiya, the last rebel-held city before Benghazi, had been subjected to loyalist airstrikes for three days. On 15 March, government forces launched a rolling artillery barrage coupled with airstrikes and naval shelling against the city, after which they attacked and broke through rebel defenses through a flanking maneuver. Most rebels had by then retreated from the city. After encircling the city, tanks were sent into the city center, and battled the remnants of rebel forces. Meanwhile, two Free Libyan Air Force jets attacked loyalist warships. According to independent sources, one ship was hit, but the rebels claimed that three warships were hit, two of which sank. After a few hours, the city was under government control, but armored forces pulled back to the outskirts to avoid surprise attacks, although the shelling continued. On 16 March, fighting continued, and government troops returning from the front said that rebel resistance was fierce. Rebel reinforcements from Benghazi managed to create a small corridor through the government blockade despite resistance by loyalist forces, while rebels also managed to take the southern entrance to the city. Three Free Libyan Air Force attack helicopters attacked government reinforcements from Sirt on the highway at the western entrance. The same day, a new artillery attack and round of fighting commenced in Misrata, during which rebels claimed to have captured 16 tanks and 20 soldiers. During the fighting, 18 rebels were killed and 20 wounded, and 60–80 government soldiers were killed. On 17 March, however, loyalists recaptured the southern entrance, and closed the corridor on the eastern side of the city. The city was once again firmly surrounded. Meanwhile, government forces launched an amphibious operation against Az Zuwaytinah, along the Ajdabiya-Benghazi road. Loyalist troops landing on the town's coastline quickly captured it. According to the rebels, the government forces were then surrounded by the rebels, and the next day, the rebels claimed that several of their fighters and a number of civilians were killed, and 20 government soldiers captured. On the night of 17 March, loyalist forces launched an artillery and tank attack against Misrata, and the attack continued well into the next day.

United Nations Intervention

On 17 March, the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution to impose a no-fly zone in Libyan airspace. As a result of the UN resolution, on 18 March, Gaddafi's government declared an immediate ceasefire, but a few hours later, Al Jazeera reported that government forces were still battling rebels. Even after the government-declared ceasefire, artillery and sniper attacks on Misrata and Ajdabiya continued, and government forces continued approaching Benghazi.

Government forces entered Benghazi with tanks on 19 March from the west and south while hundreds fled the fighting. Artillery and mortars were also fired into the city. Opposition forces managed to beat back the assault after several hours of fighting, claiming to have inflicted losses, including on heavy armor, but confirmed that they suffered 27 casualties. The same day, a Mig-23BN belonging to the Free Libyan Air Force was shot down over Benghazi, after being engaged by rebel ground forces in error. The Libyan government subsequently argued that the rebels had violated the no-fly-zone resolution by using a helicopter and a fighter jet to bomb Libyan armed forces. At the same time, loyalist forces bombarded Az Zintan, and tanks continued advancing towards the city.

The Libyan government was widely reported to have cut off water, electricity and communications in the rebel-held city of Misrata, forcing residents to rely on wells and a desalination plant. The government denied the claims, stating supplies were disrupted due to the fighting.

NATO operations begin

Main article: 2011 military intervention in Libya

See also: Operation Ellamy, Operation Odyssey Dawn, Opération Harmattan, Operation Mobile, and Operation Unified Protector

Libyan Army Palmaria howitzers destroyed by the French Air Force near Benghazi on 19 March 2011

Damage to Ghardabiya Airfield following an airstrike

The American destroyer USS Barry launches a Tomahawk cruise missile against Libyan defenses on 19 March 2011

An American B-2 Spirit bomber lands at Whiteman Air Force Base after a bombing mission over Libya

A Qatar Emiri Air Force Dassault Mirage 2000-5 participating in operations over Libya

A French Navy rescue helicopter, from the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, lands aboard the American command ship USS Mount Whitney

On 19 March, nineteen French Air Force aircraft entered Libyan airspace to begin reconnaissance missions, and flew over Benghazi to prevent any attacks on the rebel-controlled city. Italian Air Force planes reportedly also began surveillance operations over Libya. In the evening, a French jet carried out the first Coalition airstrike, destroying a government vehicle , and followed up shortly afterward with a second airstrike that destroyed four tanks southwest of Benghazi. US and British naval vessels fired at least 114 Tomahawk cruise missiles at twenty Libyan integrated air and ground defense systems. Three United States B-2 Spirit stealth bombers flew non-stop from the United States to drop forty bombs on a major Libyan airfield, while other US aircraft searched for Libyan ground forces to attack. Twenty-five coalition naval vessels, including three US submarines, began operating in the area.

Libyan State TV reported that government forces had shot down a French warplane over Tripoli on 19 March, a claim denied by France.

On 20 March, several Storm Shadow missiles were launched against Libyan targets by British jets. Nineteen U.S. jets also conducted strikes against Libyan government forces. A loyalist convoy south of Benghazi was targeted. At least seventy vehicles were destroyed, and loyalist ground troops sustained multiple casualties. Strikes also took place on the Bab al-Aziziya compound in Tripoli from late 20 March to early 21 March.

By 21 March 2011, the Libyan government's SA-2, SA-3, and SA-5 air defense systems had been completely neutralized, while further strikes took place on targets Tripoli, and according to the Libyan government, in Sabha and Sirt.

On 22 March, Coalition strikes continued, and a Libyan aircraft flying towards Benghazi was attacked. An American F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet on a bombing mission crashed after experiencing equipment failure. The pilot and weapons officer ejected and were recovered by a US rescue team inserted by helicopter. Six civilians were shot during the evacuation as they rushed to greet the troops.

On 23 March, Coalition aircraft flew at least two sorties against government forces in Misrata. Later in the day, it was announced that all government forces and equipment, with the exception of individual snipers, had retreated from the city or were destroyed. In the early morning hours, four Canadian CF-18 jets supported by two CC-150 Polaris tankers bombed a government ammunition depot in Misrata, marking the first time Canadian jets bombed Libya since the campaign began.

On 24 March, a loyalist Soko G-2 Galeb that violated the no-fly zone was shot down by a French Dassault Rafale as it attempted to land near Misrata. Another five Galebs in the area were destroyed on the ground by a French airstrike the following day. The same day, a British submarine fired multiple Tomahawk Land Attack cruise missiles at Libyan air defenses. Coalition aircraft also bombed Sabha Air Base.

On 25 March, NATO announced that it would be taking over the command of the no-fly-zone operations, after several days of heated debate over who should control operations in Libya. The US had continuously reiterated that it wished to hand over command to an international organization. Airstrikes continued during the day. Two Royal Norwegian Air Force F-16s destroyed a number of Libyan government tanks. French Air Force jets destroyed a government artillery battery outside Ajdabiya, and British and French jets carried out a joint mission outside Ajdabiya, destroying seven government tanks. On that day, the Libyan Health Ministry reported that 114 people had been killed and 445 wounded since the bombing campaign started. However, a Vatican official in Tripoli reported on 31 March that Coalition airstrikes had killed at least 40 civilians in Tripoli.

On 26 March, Norwegian F-16s bombed an airfield in Libya during the night. Canadian CF-18s bombed government electronic warfare sites near Misrata. French aircraft destroyed at least seven loyalist aircraft, including two military helicopters. British jets destroyed five armored vehicles with Brimstone missiles, and Royal Danish Air Force F-16s destroyed numerous loyalist self-propelled rocket launchers and tanks.

On 27 March, Danish aircraft destroyed government artillery south of Tripoli, while Canadian jets destroyed ammunition bunkers south of Misrata. French jets knocked out a command center south of Tripoli, and conducted joint patrols with Qatari aircraft.

On 28 March, Coalition forces fought their first naval engagement when the USS Barry, supported by a P-3 Orion patrol aircraft and A-10 Thunderbolt attack aircraft, engaged the Libyan Coast Guard vessel Vittoria and two smaller craft, after the vessels began firing indiscriminately at merchant vessels in the port of Misrata. The Vittoria was disabled and forced to beach, another vessel was sunk, and the third abandoned. The same day, British jets destroyed two tanks and two armored vehicles near Misrata, and ammunition bunkers in the Sabha area.

On 29 March, U.S. aircraft fired on another Libyan Coast Guard vessel after it opened fire on merchant ships in the port of Misrata, forcing it to limp to shore. Coalition airstrikes continued to hit loyalist ground forces and military targets throughout Libya, with U.S. aircraft employing tankbuster missiles. The following day, French and British jets conducted strikes on loyalist armor and air defenses.

On 31 March, NATO took command of Coalition air operations in Libya. Subsequent operations were carried out as part of Operation Unified Protector. Daily Coalition strikes continued to target Libyan government ground forces, air defenses, artillery, rocket launchers, command-and-control centers, radars, military bases, bunkers, ammunition storage sites, logistical targets, and missile storage sites. These strikes took place all over the country, many of them in Tripoli, where the Bab al-Aziziya compound was also targeted. The strikes caused numerous material losses and casualties among government forces.

On 6 April, an attack against the Sarir oil field, killing three guards and injuring other employees, and causing damage to a pipeline connecting the field to a Mediterranean port. The Libyan government claimed that NATO aircraft carried out the attack. Both the rebels and the information manager at the Arabian Gulf Oil Company denied the Libyan government's claims, and attributed the attack to loyalist forces.

On 23 April, the U.S. carried out its first UAV strike, when two RQ-1 Predator drones destroyed a Multiple rocket launcher near Misrata.

On 4 May, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen claimed that the Libyan government's military capabilities had been significantly degraded since the operation started, stating that "every week, every day we make new progress, hit important targets. But I'm not able to quantify the degree to which we have degraded Muammar Gaddafi's military capabilities, but definitely it is much weaker now than when our operation started". On April 5, NATO claimed that nearly a third of the Libyan government's military capabilities had been destroyed.

NATO claimed that it was enforcing the no-fly zone on rebels as well as on government forces. However, an unidentified rebel pilot and an air traffic controller claimed that NATO agreed to let them attack government targets after approving a request by the rebel military council. On 8 May, NATO claimed to have carried out its first interception when it escorted a Free Libyan Air Force MiG-23 back to base, while the unidentified pilot claimed that he had been allowed to take off and destroyed a fuel truck and two other vehicles.

Intelligence operations in Libya

The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) inserted small groups of clandestine operatives into Libya to gather intelligence on loyalist military targets and troop positions for airstrikes. The agents also met with rebels to fill in gaps in understanding their leaders and allegiances. U.S. officials denied, however, that they were assisting rebels. In addition, dozens of British MI6 operatives and special forces soldiers were inserted into Libya to direct RAF airstrikes and gather intelligence on the whereabouts of Libyan government tank columns, artillery positions, and missile installations. Stratfor claimed that other states may have also sent intelligence and special forces operatives to Libya. Stratfor reported that foreign operatives also met with rebels to prepare them for upcoming events, create channels of communications and logistics, and create a post-war political framework. In addition, the U.S. Air Force utilized U-2 spy planes, JSTAR aircraft, and a high-altitude Global Hawk drone to monitor government forces. Satellites were also used for surveillance operations against Libya.

Aid to rebels

On 19 April, the United Kingdom announced that it was sending military advisors to Libya to help the rebels improve their organization and communications, but not to train or arm them. The British government also supplied the rebels with telecommunications equipment and body armor.

On 20 April, the United States announced a $25 million, €20 million aid package to the Libyan rebels, which consisted of fuel trucks and fuel containers, ambulances, medical equipment, protective vests, binoculars, food, and non-secure radios. The first aid shipment arrived in Benghazi on 10 May. In addition, Italy and France were reported to be sending military advisors to aid Libyan rebels.

Qatar supplied MILAN anti-tank missiles, pickup trucks, and uniforms to the rebels. The Libyan government claimed that Qatar also sent 20 military trainers to Benghazi to train over 700 rebel fighters. In addition, Qatar assisted a rebel satellite television operation in broadcasting from Doha. On 27 March, Qatar and the Libyan opposition signed an oil export deal, which would see the National Transitional Council exporting oil to Qatar from rebel-held areas in exchange for money to finance the rebel cause. Qatar also supplied petroleum products to the rebels.

On 9 June 2011, Turkey donated $100 million to the National Transitional Council for humanitarian assistance.

On 19 June, rebel oil chief Ali Tarhouni said that rebels were running out of money and blamed Western countries for not living up to their promises of financial aids.

Second opposition advance

Main article: Late March 2011 Libyan rebel offensive

On 20 March, Free Libyan Air Force pilot Muhammad Mukhtar Osman carried out a suicide attack by crashing his plane into the Bab al-Aziziya barracks in Tripoli. Khamis al-Gaddafi was allegedly killed in the attack although the Gaddafi regime denied the reports.

The same day, as airstrikes were being carried out on loyalist armored and supply columns, rebel forces began a renewed offensive from Benghazi towards Tripoli. They advanced 240 kilometres (150 mi) along the coast of the Gulf of Sidra. The first objective was Ajdabiya, which the rebels reached on 21 March after taking Zuteinia along the way. Rebel forces attempted to attack Ajdabiya and relieve rebels inside the city, but were repulsed by government troops using tanks and multiple rocket launchers, and retreated to a checkpoint 12 miles from the city. That night, U.S. airstrikes hit loyalist positions reportedly shelling the city. On 22 March, loyalist shelling of rebel positions and Coalition airstrikes against loyalist forces continued. Hussein El Warfali, the commander of a Libyan Army Brigade stationed near Tripoli, was reportedly killed during the strikes. Rebel in Ajdabiya claimed that three government tanks were destroyed. On 24 March, government troops still held the main east and west gate areas and most of the city, except the city center, and managed to hold off advancing rebels with the help of mortar and artillery fire. Some rebel reinforcements managed to slip inside the city, and the situation became fluid, with large parts of Ajdabiya changing sides. During the night, British jets attacked government armor. By the following day, Gaddafi forces controlled the western and central parts of the city, while rebels controlled the eastern part. During the afternoon, four rebel multiple rocket launchers shelled loyalist positions as part of a counteroffensive, and government artillery returned fire. The rebel attack was halted after loyalist armored units repelled an advance by rebel forward units. During the night, some rebel reinforcements managed to slip into Ajdabiya, and battled dug-in government troops throughout the night, hitting their positions with RPGs and and rockets, while NATO aircraft attacked loyalist tanks and armored vehicles, artillery, rocket launchers, and a military barracks. On 26 March, the rebels were in full control after loyalist forces withdrew from the city. During their retreat, government forces left behind large amounts of weapons and munitions, as well as intact armor and artillery. Loyalist forces also left their dead behind. Rebels seized military equipment abandoned by loyalist forces.

Rebels subsequently took Brega, Ra's Lanuf, and Bin Jawad with Coalition air support. According to a doctor in Ra's Lanuf who treated government casualties from Ajdabiya and the road from Benghazi, the airstrikes caused hundreds of casualties among government forces, morale dropped, and soldiers were faking injuries to escape the fighting. According to the doctor, "the first day, we had 56 seriously wounded. To the head, to the brain, lost arms and legs. Soldiers with a lot of shrapnel in them. It was like that every day after". The doctor said that he did not know how many soldiers were killed, but that soldiers who came to the hospital said that there were 150 dead on the first day of airstrikes, and that there were less after that, as they hid.

Throughout the offensive, fighting also took place in Misrata. Despite continuous strikes on loyalist vehicles by aircraft and Tomahawk cruise missiles, Gaddafi forces regained control of much of the city, using tanks, artillery, mortars, and snipers. The attacks caused civilian casualties, including among children, and a hospital being used by rebels to treat their injured was overrun and used as a sniper position. Regime warships took the city's port. A non-violent demonstration by unarmed rebel supporters was broken up by snipers, artillery, and tanks. On 28 March, heavy fighting took place near Sirte, where government troops managed to halt the rebel advance. One captured rebel was subsequently executed. Meanwhile, government troops again bombarded Misrata, and managed to capture more of the city. Although NATO airstrikes continued to target loyalist vehicles, Gaddafi forces adapted to airstrikes by replacing armor with civilian vehicles fitted with weapons. Government forces launched a counteroffensive on 29 March, forcing the rebels into a retreat from Bin Jawad toward Ra's Lanuf. The same day, loyalist forces led by the Khamis Brigade captured the western and northwestern parts of Misrata. According to witnesses and rebels, civilians were forced from their homes and killed indiscriminately. During the night, heavy fighting occurred in the Az-Zawaabi district, in which nine rebels were killed and five wounded. On 30 March, the rebels said that they were pulling out of Ra's Lanuf due to heavy tank and artillery fire from loyalist forces. Following a government counter-offensive, Gaddafi forces took control of Brega. Clashes continued between rebel and government troops in the area between Brega and Ajdabiya.

Stalemate in the east, rebel progress in the west

Main articles: Third Battle of Brega, Battle of Brega-Ajdabiya road, and Battle of Misrata

Rebels attempted a counter-attack to retake Brega. For eight days, loyalists and rebels battled for Brega. In the end, government troops repelled numerous rebel attacks on the city and managed to force the rebels out of Brega by 7 April, despite continued NATO strikes. During the battles, a NATO airstrike accidently hit rebel forces, destroying three tanks, damaging five, and killing 27 rebels. NATO claimed that it did not know the rebels were using tanks. During the battle, 46–49 rebels and 28 loyalists were killed. Rebel forces retreated, fleeing in several different directions. The rebels regrouped in Ajdabiya. Following the rebel retreat, government troops consolidated their control over Brega and prepared to advance on Ajdabiya. On 9 April, rebel forces attacked Brega, but only managed to reach the University before being forced back by intense shelling by loyalist forces. The Libyan government claimed that its forces had shot down two rebel helicopters near the eastern oil facilities in Brega. The rebels confirmed that they had sent two helicopters into combat, and journalists claimed to have seen at least one helicopter apparently fighting for the rebels in action.

Following the failed attack on Brega, government forces shelled Ajdabiya and invaded the city from the north, west and south and managed to reach the heart of the town by the following afternoon. They were later forced back by a rebel counterattack that came after rebel reinforcements arrived. Government troops managed to retain control of the western part of the city. During the night, street battles took place along the city's main street, and in the southern part of Ajdabiya. On 10 April, loyalist forces managed to push closer the city center, although they continued to be hit by NATO air attacks. The following day, rebels managed to completely push loyalist forces out of the city, but fighting continued west of Ajdabiya. The front line then stagnated outside of the city, 40 km down the road to Brega. There were exchanges of artillery and mortar fire throughout the following days. On 15 April, a rebel column tried to advance on Brega from Ajdabiya following a rocket barrage, but were stopped when Gaddafi forces carried out a hit-and-run attack one kilometer outside Brega, killing one rebel and wounding two.

Street battles broke out in Misrata in mid-April with loyalist forces repeatedly shelling the city. Migrant workers trapped in Misrata began protesting their conditions, demanding repatriation from the city, which led to several cases of rebels opening fire on them, causing deaths. By 22 April, rebels managed to drive loyalist forces from several locations near the city center with NATO air support. The Deputy Foreign Minister of Libya subsequently pledged that the Libyan Army would withdraw from Misrata. On 23 April, government forces withdrew from Misrata, but continued to shell the city. On 26 April, a loyalist force attempted to retake Misrata, but was stopped by a NATO airstrike.

Government troops launched an artillery bombardment against rebel-held areas in the Al Jabal al Gharbi district in the Nafusa Mountains, leaving 110 rebels and civilians dead.

On 21 April, a convoy of nine loyalist vehicles attacked the rebel-held al-Boster oil facility in the eastern Libyan desert, southwest of Tobruk, deep inside rebel-held territory. Eight of the nine rebels stationed there were killed, while the remaining rebel escaped wounded. The facility was damaged during the attack. Loyalists set a tire on fire to burn the remains of a senior rebel guard. Rebel spokesman Ahmed Bani said that the attack was carried out to disrupt oil sales by rebels.

On 24 April, loyalist forces shelled the border crossing at Wazzin, and fired Grad rockets into Zintan, causing casualties. The following day, two rebels were killed and three wounded in fighting near Nalut. The rebels claimed to have killed 45 government troops and captured 17.

Rebel forces captured Wazzin after overcoming fierce resistance from government troops. Gaddafi's forces became trapped between the town and the border with Tunisia and as a result 105 government soldiers crossed the border and surrendered to Tunisian officials. On 28 April, loyalist forces recaptured the Wazzin border crossing with Tunisia after a swift advance during which they pushed the rebels into Tunisia. Fighting continued on the edge of the Tunisian border town of Dehiba, which included a failed rebel counterattack. On 28 April, loyalist forces captured Al Jawf with minimal resistance, and the rebels quickly retreated. Three people were reportedly killed during the assault. On 29 April, elements of the Tunisian army and border police clashed with loyalist forces.

On 30 April 2011, a NATO airstrike hit the home of Saif al-Arab al-Gaddafi, Muammar Gaddafi's youngest son. Libyan officials reported that Saif and three of Muammar Gaddafi's grandchildren were killed in the strike. The government also claimed Muammar Gaddafi was there, but "escaped". On 26 April 2011, British Defence Minister, Liam Fox, and U.S. Defense Secretary, Robert Gates, had told reporters at the Pentagon that NATO planes were not targeting Gaddafi specifically but would continue to attack his command centers. Within the United Nations Security Council, Russia and China voiced concerns that NATO has gone beyond the UN resolution's authorisation to take "all necessary measures" to protect civilians. Russia expressed "increasing concern" regarding reports of civilian casualties, and doubted claims that the attacks did not deliberately target Gadaffi and his family. Following the attacks, angry mobs of Gaddafi loyalists burned and vandalized the British and Italian embassies, a U.S. consulate, and a UN office, prompting the UN to pull its staff out of Tripoli.

The strike came shortly after Muammar Gaddafi called for a mutual cease-fire and negotiations with NATO. A NATO official said before Saturday's strike that the alliance would keep up pressure until the U.N. Security Council mandate on Libya was fulfilled. The NATO official noted that Gaddafi's forces had attacked Misrata hours before his speech. Opposition leaders called the cease-fire offers publicity stunts. "We don't believe that there is a solution that includes him or any member of his family. So it is well past any discussions. The only solution is for him to depart," said rebel spokesperson Jalal al-Galal.

On the same day of the attack, government troops entered Jalu and engaged in a battle with rebels, in which five rebels, five civilians, and three soldiers were killed.

Following the strike, loyalist forces stepped up their artillery attacks on Misrata, and continued to shell Wazzin. Government troops in Misrata were reported to be seen wearing gas masks, sparking fears that Gaddafi would use chemical weapons to retaliate for his son's death.

On 1 May, NATO carried out 60 airstrikes throughout Libya, targeting ammunition storage sites, military vehicles, a communications facility, and an anti-aircraft gun. Rebels claimed that a NATO airstrike destroyed 45 military vehicles in an attack on a loyalist convoy leaving Jalu. The following day, government tanks tried to enter the city from the al-Ghiran suburb. Six people were killed and several dozen wounded. Misrata was still subjected to continuous rocket fire from government forces, with a spokesperson claiming that the shelling had not stopped for 36 hours. Government forces halted their shelling of Misrata at about midday following NATO strikes, but the port remained closed, having been bombarded earlier in the day. Meanwhile, two of the three mines that were laid by loyalist forces in the port of Misrata that were preventing aid from being shipped in were destroyed, with NATO minesweepers searching for the third.

On 3 May, loyalist forces started shelling Misrata. The attack stopped briefly when a NATO plane flew overhead, but resumed shortly afterward. NATO aircraft conducted 62 airstrikes against loyalist targets near Misrata, Ra's Lanuf, Sirt, Brega, and Zintan.

On 4 May, a ship chartered to deliver humanitarian aid and evacuate migrant workers, journalists, and wounded Libyans was able to dock in the port of Misrata after being guided in by tugboat to avoid hitting a mine. Gaddafi forces shelled the area, hitting a camp for stranded migrant workers and causing deaths and injuries. Loyalists also stepped up their attacks in the Nafusa Mountains, shelling two towns and a key supply route.

On 5 May, the Royal Navy mine clearance vessel HMS Brocklesby located and destroyed the final mine at the entrance to the port of Misrata. NATO aircraft conducted numerous airstrikes against loyalist forces near Misrata and Ajdabiya, and military targets in Tripoli.

On 6 May, NATO conducted 57 airstrikes against loyalist military targets throughout Libya, while opposition forces gained full control of Al Kufra and Abu Rawayah after Gaddafi forces stationed there surrendered. Loyalists attacked the town of Jalu, but were repulsed by rebel resistance and a Coalition airstrike. Loyalist soldiers launched an attack on a rebel checkpoint between Jalu and Al Jawf, killing six rebels. A rebel scouting pickup truck was also hit by loyalist artillery during fighting alon the Brega-Ajdabiya road, killing another three rebels.

On 7 May, Gaddafi forces continued shelling the port of Misrata, hitting a large fuel tank. Government forces also used small crop-dusters to bomb four fuel tanks. The attacks started a fire, which spread to four more fuel tanks. Loyalist artillery and mortar fire also hit Tunisia after renewed clashes broke out at the Wazzin border crossing. Clashes also took place in Zintan and Yefren, and in the area between. The area between Zintan and Yefren was being secured, but Yefren was still under siege. Rebel casualties were 11 killed and at least 50 wounded. Loyalists also conducted hit-and-run attacks against Jalu and Ojla. The rebels also claimed to have retaken Al Jawf, but government troops were still in the surrounding area.

On 8 May, heavy fighting took place near Misrata Airport, and the city came under renewed attack by Gaddafi forces. Meanwhile, NATO strikes hit numerous government targets in the vicinity of Misrata, Zintan, Ajdabiya, Houn, and Brega.

On 9 May, the shelling of Misrata by Gaddafi forces continued to choke off humanitarian supplies to the city, while fighting continued near Misrata Airport. Meanwhile, Coalition strikes hit two targets in Tripoli. Fighting also took place along the Brega-Ajdabiya road. The rebels claimed to have killed 36 loyalist soldiers and lost 6 fighters.

On 10 May, rebels from Misrata and Zlitan joined up and engaged in close combat that rendered loyalist long-range rockets useless. The rebels managed to drive loyalist forces on the west side of Misrata out of rocket range, and to push loyalist troops from Misrata Airport, burning their tanks as they retreated. Rebels also claimed to have made gains near Jalu, and the area between Ajdabiya and Brega in fierce fighting. The same day, a NATO strike hit a government command center in Tripoli. Rebels subsequently began an advance towards Zliten.

NATO attacks intensify

The Libyan frigate Al Ghardabia, which was among the warships hit by British jets on 19 May.

On 11 May, NATO aircraft fired four rockets at Gaddafi's compound in Tripoli, killing at least two people. Strikes also hit government military targets throughout the country.

On 12 May, NATO carried out 52 strikes against loyalist targets. Loyalist forces fired at least three rockets into Ajdabiya. Loyalist forces also launched an attack on Misrata port, using a number of small boats, but were forced to abandon their attack after NATO warships intervened. Regime forces onshore covered their retreat with artillery and anti-aircraft fire directed at the warships. The warships HMCS Charlottetown and HMS Liverpool responded with machine gun fire.

On 13 May, NATO carried out 44 airstrikes. According to the Libyan government, a strike in the vicinity of Brega killed 11 Islamic clerics and wounded 45 civilians. In Tripoli, shortages of food and fuel were worsening, along with increasing NATO attacks. According to an activist, a wave of anti-government protests took place in several Tripoli neighborhoods throughout the week. Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said that Gaddafi was probably wounded in a NATO airstrike, and had left Tripoli. The Libyan government dismissed the claim as "nonsense", and state television broadcast a brief audio recording of what it said was Gaddafi, taunting NATO as a cowardly crusader, and claiming to be in a place where NATO could not reach him.

On 15 May, NATO conducted 48 airstrikes against loyalist targets. British jets and missiles hit two intelligence facilities. NATO also hacked into Libyan Army frequencies, and broadcast claims of atrocities and appeals to stop fighting, telling them to either "build a peaceful Libya for the benefit of your family and a better future for your country" or face continued airstrikes.

On 16 May, NATO conducted 46 airstrikes on loyalist targets. Among the targets hit was a training base used by the bodyguards of members of Gaddafi's inner circle, which was hit by British jets. At least four Grad rockets fired from Libya landed in Tunisian territory. Libyan government forces used two rigid-hull inflatable boats laden with explosives in an attempt to hinder aid shipments to the port of Misrata, but the vessels were intercepted by NATO warships and helicopters. One boat escaped at high speed, but the second was captured, and destroyed by a NATO warship using small-arms fire. The following day, NATO carried out 53 strikes.

Throughout the following days, NATO continued to carry out dozens of airstrikes on government military capabilities, a large percentage of the targets being in Tripoli. Meanwhile, government forces continued artillery attacks on rebel areas. On 19 May, British jets carried out a massive strike against the Libyan Navy, hitting naval facilities in the harbors Tripoli, Khoms, and Sirt. Eight warships were sunk or severely damaged. A dockyard for launching rigid-hull inflatable speedboats was also hit, and the attacks caused damage to naval infrastructure. The same day, increased rebel activity was reported between Brega and Ajdabiya, with new recruits and ammunition arriving in large numbers at the front lines. Meanwhile, loyalist forces again started shelling Misrata, killing one rebel and wounding 10. The next day, another 60 strikes were carried out. In Brega, a relatively small rebel unit with artillery support launched an attack against Gaddafi troops at Brega University, an area in which rebels had trouble engaging in before due to the extensive use of artillery by loyalists. The university was attacked from multiple angles, but government troops managed to retain their positions at the university by the end of the day.

On 21 May, NATO naval forces intercepted a fuel tanker destined for Libya, carrying fuel alleged to be for government use. On 21 May, the harbor of Tripoli was again one of the targets bombed in NATO attacks. Also on 21 May, a ship loaded with food and medical supplies docked in Misrata and unloaded its cargo, while two ships loaded with humanitarian aid departed from Benghazi and docked in Zarzis, Tunisia, where their aid was unloaded to be taken by truck to the Nafusa Mountains region. A French military spokesman announced that the French Navy amphibious assault ship Le Tonnerre had departed Toulon the previous week, and was sailing towards the Libyan coast with a load of 12 Tiger helicopters. Later, the British military said that it was also deploying 4 Apache helicopters. Meanwhile, clashes took place in Nalut, in which one rebel and ten government soldiers were killed. Rebels also attacked New Brega from six directions to outflank loyalists entrenched there. Two rebels were killed and twelve wounded, along with an unknown number of loyalists. Two loyalist vehicles mounted with heavy weapons were destroyed and another three captured. Loyalist forces counterattacked later during the evening. One rebel was killed and four wounded during fighting at the Arbaein checkpoint between Brega and Ajdabiya.

On 25 May, rebels carried out an attack against government forces near Kufra, destroying a weapons-laden vehicle. The same day, rebels clashed with Sudanese mercenaries near the Sudanese border.

The following day, NATO warplanes bombed more than twenty targets in Tripoli. All of the strikes were conducted within less than half an hour. It was widely described as the heaviest attack on the city since the campaign began. According to Libyan government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim, the strikes targeted buildings used by volunteer units of the Libyan Army. NATO claimed that a vehicle storage facility near the Bab al-Aziziya compound was hit. At least three people were killed and dozens injured. NATO strikes continued to target Gaddafi's forces with an increasing frequency, attacking dozens of targets all around the country daily, many of them in Tripoli. The Bab al-Aziziya compound continued to be targeted. Gaddafi forces continued their artillery and rocket attacks, and laid a minefield in the Misrata area. Water continued to be cut off in Misrata, and loyalists also re-routed sewage to flow directly into wells. On 27 May, they attempted to advance on Misrata, but the rebels drove them back, losing 5 dead and 8–9 wounded. Clashes took place in Bani Walid, and a high-ranking loyalist officer was reportedly killed. Clashes also reportedly took place between security forces and protesters in four areas of Tripoli.

On 29 May 120 government soldiers and eight officers defected from the government and left Libya. The eight officers included five generals, two colonels, and a major. One of the defectors, General Melud Massoud Halasa, said that Gaddafi's forces were weakening daily, and were only 20 percent as effective as they were before the war began. Halasa estimated that only 10 generals remained loyal to Gaddafi. On the same day, an anti-government protest broke out in Tripoli, when about 1,000 people gathered for the funeral of two opposition members killed in a clash with security forces. The demonstration was broken up by loyalist militia, who used live ammunition to disperse it, killing two people. The protest was the largest that took place in Tripoli in nearly three months.

Gaddafi operations in rebel areas

Following the withdrawal of government forces from cities as they fell, members of Gaddafi's Revolutionary Committees remained, and launched a series of shootings and bombings against civilians and spied on local rebel activity. They also assassinated a military commander who defected to the rebels and a journalist, both of them in Benghazi. On 1 June, suspected Gaddafi loyalists blew up a car in front of a Benghazi hotel where foreign journalists and diplomats were staying. Rebels claimed that pro-Gaddafi agents in Benghazi may be acting as spies for the regime, seeking to corrode the uprising on the inside. According to a Benghazi resident, Gaddafi's supporters were in hiding, organizing themselves for when the government retook Benghazi. Estimates of the number of Gaddafi sympathizers in Benghazi ranged from 300 to 6,000. Rebel Information Minister Mahmud Shammam told journalists that small sleeper cells of Gaddafi's agents existed in Benghazi, allegedly receiving coded messages delivered by government spokesmen in Tripoli.

Rebel forces responded with a security crackdown, arresting hundreds of suspects over a several-week period. Many arrests were carried out by civilian "protection squads" not sanctioned by the National Transitional Council. Some of the suspects targeted by the rebels were armed and engaged in shootouts, resulting in casualties on both sides. Rebels often arrested suspects based on criteria such as the regime loyalty of their hometown, a photograph of Gaddafi in their wallet, and family ties. However, the rebels also used other methods to discover Gaddafi supporters, such as sending women into the homes of suspects to pretend to be in need of something while searching for guns. Some suspects were arrested after their friends reported that they were loyal to Gaddafi. One detainee died of torture while in custody. Some suspects were summarily executed rather than being arrested. An official in the rebel security agency stated that six of Gaddafi's former internal security agents were found dead in one week. He claimed that they had been on a closely guarded list of suspects, but that each time that an arrest was ordered, it was discovered that they had already been killed. Rebel death squads were suspected to be behind the killings.

June helicopter strikes

British and French forces began employing helicopter attacks against Libyan targets on 3 June as part of Operation Unified Protector. The attack helicopters were used to attack communications and control facilities, and were able to target Gaddafi forces in populated areas while minimizing risks to civilians. According to British Defense Secretary Liam Fox, the employment of helicopters was an extension of the way in which fast jets had been used in ground attacks and did not signify a change in tactics.

British AH1 Apache attack helicopters armed with Hellfire missiles and heavy chainguns disabled a military checkpoint and a radar station near the city of Brega. The helicopters received return fire from government soldiers in the back of a pickup truck and anti-aircraft gun. The Apaches destroyed the anti-aircraft position with six Hellfire missiles and destroyed the pickup truck with a chain gun, killing a number of soldiers. British attack aircraft supported the helicopters by destroying one military installation. Meanwhile, two munition storage depots were destroyed in a separate mission in central Libya. The operation was concluded successfully and the two helicopters returned to HMS Ocean.

French Gazelle and Tiger attack helicopters targeted 15 military vehicles and 5 command posts at unknown locations. In all, twelve French helicopters are being used in the campaign.

NATO jets launched a series of fresh airstrikes against targets around the country. According to an anonymous Libyan government official, an educational institute in eastern Tripoli where military officials and civilians studied engineering, computers, and communications was among the targets hit.

Rebel offensive

On 3 June, rebels captured four towns from government forces in the Nafusa Mountains Campaign in the western part of Libya. On the following day fighting continued in another part of the mountain range, near the Tunisian border, with government forces reportedly using Grad rockets. Clashes also took place between government and opposition forces in Al Khums.

NATO attacks continued to hit government targets around the country with increasing frequency, especially in and around Tripoli. Rebel forces in the Nafusa Mountains advanced somewhat closer to Tripoli, taking the strategically important town of Yafran on 7 June, which at least strengthened their control of the mountains area. This left the rebels less than 100 miles from Tripoli. The same day, NATO launched at least forty airstrikes against government targets in Tripoli. The Bab al-Azizia compound was heavily bombed, with a government soldier claiming that it was subjected to eight airstrikes. On 8 June, Gaddafi forces again advanced on Misrata, with renewed shelling killing 10 rebels and injuring 24. In Tripoli, NATO attacks briefly ceased during the day, but resumed in the evening. On 9 June, NATO launched another series of airstrikes, hitting targets on the outskirts of Tripoli.

The following day, Gaddafi forces shelled the outskirts of Misrata, and launched ground attacks on the city which were repelled by rebel resistance, while NATO aircraft attacked government vehicles and a rocket launcher. During the fighting, rebels claimed that 16 rebels and 50 loyalists were killed, and that at least 40 rebels were wounded. There were also civilian casualties. Another 61 were wounded when loyalist forces shelled Dafniya with tanks, artillery, and incendiary rockets. However, a subsequent attack by loyalist infantry and armor was repulsed. Loyalist forces also surrounded Zlitan. According to rebel military spokesman Ahmed Bani, the troops were equipped artillery and Grad rockets. Residents were allegedly threatened with shelling and rape by mercenaries if they did not surrender. Clashes between rebel and government forces broke out in Zlitan, with regime forces shelling the city, while NATO aircraft attacked government forces in the area. NATO airstrikes hit Tripoli the same day, hitting either the Bab al-Azizia compound or a nearby military barracks. Libyan state television also reported that airstrikes hit targets in the Ain Zara neighborhood.

On 11 June, rebel forces fought their way into Az Zawiyah, and continued advancing from the west. London-based National Transitional Council spokesman Guma el-Gamaty announced that the rebels had captured a large part of the western side of the city. NATO airstrikes also hit mobile radar units in Metiga, weapons depots in Jufrah, Widdan, and Houn, and targets in Tripoli. Government commander Khweldi Al-Hmeldi was allegedly wounded. Government forces set up checkpoints to the west of Az Zawiyah, and closed the coastal road. Government soldiers continued shelling Misrata, and clashes continued around Zliten.

On 12 June, Libyan government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim announced that the the rebels were defeated in Az Zawiyah. Reporters taken to Az Zawiyah saw secure streets and Gaddafi's national flag in the central square. Government forces also continued to shell Misrata, and attack rebel forces massed in Dafniya with tanks, artillery, and incendiary rockets. Clashes also took place in Misrata, Zlitan, and Brega. NATO aircraft bombed the Bab al-Azizia compound and a military airport. Meanwhile, protests were reported to be occurring in Sabha, with youth and members of an anti-Gaddafi tribe protesting against the government and preparing weapons.

On 13 June, opposition forces launched an offensive in the Misrata area, and managed to push Gaddafi forces out of the area in fierce fighting, despite heavy shelling by government troops. The rebels fought their way to within six miles from Zlitan. The Misrata refinery was hit by six rockets who damaged its generators. However, government forces ambushed rebels in Brega, killing 23 and wounding 26. The same day, NATO conducted 62 airstrikes against targets in Tripoli and four other cities. NATO helicopters attacked two Libyan Navy boats off the coast of Misrata, and military equipment and vehicles concealed beneath trees in Zlitan.

On 14 June, government bombardments in the Nafusa Mountains continued, while clashes continued as the rebels attacked towns under Gaddafi control. NATO jets bombed the Bab al-Azizia compound and two other targets in Tripoli. NATO aircraft also dropped propaganda leaflets urging government soldiers to abandon Zlitan. Throughout the following days, NATO jets and helicopters continued to target the Bab al-Azizia compound and military targets across Libya. However, on 18 June, a NATO airstrike mistakenly hit a rebel column, and expressed regret for any casualties that may have resulted. The following day, government forces ambushed a group of rebels near Dafniya, killing five. Meanwhile, rebel forces began conducting a flanking operation against Gaddafi forces to push them from Zlitan.

As the rebel offensive progressed, opposition fighters conducted small-scale attacks against government forces in Tripoli, although few of the attacks were apparently effective. Residents claimed that several significant assaults took place in late May and early June. At night, gunfire was frequently heard in the city, with some residents claiming that it was security forces clashing with opposition fighters, and Libyan authorities claiming it to be celebratory gunfire. In addition, protesters held "flash" protests, chanting anti-Gaddafi slogans for several minutes before melting away, hanged the rebel flag from bridges, and spray-painted anti-Gaddafi graffiti at night. Due to fears of rebels smuggling weapons into the city, authorities set up checkpoints in the city and roadblocks at the entrances, searching cars. According to some media reports, poorly-trained students were given weapons and told to man checkpoints, due to a shortage of regular military forces in the city.

On 19 June, at least seven people were killed in a NATO airstrike on Tripoli. Reporters were taken to the location of the strike and saw bodies being pulled out of the rubble of a destroyed building. NATO said that it was investigating the reports. Later in the same day, NATO acknowledged being resonsible for the airstrike and the civilian deaths. On the frontline, the fights continued around Dafniyah near Misrata with artillery fire from both sides.

On 20 June, Gaddafi government officials claimed that NATO killed 19 civilians in the town of Surman, 70 km west of Tripoli. This comes only a day after NATO admitted to accidentally killing civilians in a separate airstrike in Tripoli. NATO stated that the target in Surman was a military command and control node.

On 21 June, a NATO Northrop Grumman MQ-8 Fire Scout unmanned helicopter drone was lost over Libya, with enemy fire being the suspected cause. Meanwhile, government shelling of Misrata continued, while 6 rebels were killed and 50 wounded during clashes in Dafniya. Near Zlitan, more than 150 land mines were discovered and removed.

NATO continued its airstrikes on Gaddafi forces, conducting 44 strikes the following day. Meanwhile, fighting in and near Zlitan continued, with rebels continuing to expand their holdings in the area, while Gaddafi forces continued to bombard rebel-held areas.

On 26 June, the Nafusa mountains rebels took the initiative and engaged in a fierce fighting with the forces loyal to the Gaddafi around Bir al-Ghanam, 80 km from the capital.

Humanitarian situation

Migrant workers fleeing the violence at Choucha refugee camp, Tunisia.

Medical supplies, fuel and food have run dangerously low in Libya. On 25 February, the International Committee of the Red Cross launched an emergency appeal for US$6,400,000 to meet the emergency needs of people affected by the violent unrest in Libya. On 2 March, the ICRC's director general reminded everyone taking part in the violence that health workers must be allowed to do their jobs safely.

At the end of February Al Jazeera reported that African migrant workers were being attacked, injured and perhaps killed by anti-government mobs according to witnesses. "We were being attacked by local people who said that we were mercenaries killing people. Let me say that they did not want to see black people," Julius Kiluu, a sixty-year-old building supervisor, told Reuters. "Our camp was burnt down, and we were assisted by the Kenyan embassy and our company to get to the airport," he said.

On 2 March, the Royal Navy destroyer HMS York had arrived in Benghazi carrying medical supplies and other humanitarian aid donated by the Swedish government. The medical supplies, a donation to the Benghazi Medical Centre, were supposed to have been flown direct to Benghazi airport but when the airport was closed down, they were diverted to Malta. They were transferred from the airport to the frigate at short notice by the Armed Forces of Malta. On 8 March, a convoy of trucks from the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) had entered Libya and was due to arrive in the eastern port city of Benghazi on the same day, the WFP said in a statement. A convoy carrying seventy metric tonnes of high-energy date bars crossed the Egyptian border overnight on its way to the eastern port. On 7 March, U.N. aid coordinator Valerie Amos stated that fighting across Libya meant that more than a million people fleeing or inside the country needed humanitarian aid. Islamic Relief and World Food Programme World Food Programme (WFP) are also coordinating a shipment of humanitarian supplies to Misrata.

Turkey sent the ferry Ankara to Libya. The ferry had been converted into a hospital ship to assist wounded victims of the fighting in Misrata. Ankara docked at the Misrata port on 2 April, and was escorted by twelve Turkish Air Force F-16 jets taking off from Bandırma and Dalaman, four tanker aircraft taking off from İncirlik, and the Turkish Navy frigate TCG Yıldırım. 230 wounded people and 60 attendants were taken on board and the ferry left Misrata for Benghazi. On 4 April the ferry sailed from Benghazi to Turkey with additional 190 people, including 90 injured. Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) sent a cargo ship carrying nine containers with 141 tons of humanitarian aid including medication, food packages, infant formula, milk powder, hygiene kits and clothing. The ship set sail from Turkey and dropped anchor in Malta.

By 11 April, hundreds of foreign labourers from countries including Bangladesh, Egypt, Sudan, Ghana and Niger who were previously attracted by jobs in a once prosperous town of Misurata had not been evacuated. A labourers' spokesperson said there were 650 trapped workers from Ghana, 750 from Chad and 2,000 from Niger. Another spokesperson also gave a reporter for the British Daily Telegraph newspaper handwritten sheets of names that he said represented hundreds of stranded Sudanese.

For a over 50 days, the Libyan city of Misurata has been shelled by artillery and hit by tanks and snipers, and for over 20 days has had its water intentionally shut off by Muammar Gaddafi's forces. Sewage has been intentionally re-routed into water wells by Gaddafi's forces. As supplies run short, hundreds of thousands are at risk of death.

A humanitarian ship docked in harbour of the besieged city of Misrata late on the 14th to begin the evacuation of nearly 8,300 stranded migrants living around the port in temporary accommodation in tents and shelters made from tarpaulins. The Red Cross also released a statement that it expected one of its medical supply shipments to arrive at Misrata in the near future.

11 May 2011 the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland Radoslaw Sikorski paid a visit to Benghazi. During the visit, Poland provided its medical aid transport for those who sustained injuries during the clashes in Misrata and other Libyan cities.

Libyan refugees

Fleeing the violence of Tripoli by road, as many as 4,000 refugees were crossing the Libya-Tunisia border daily during the first days of the uprising. Among those escaping the violence were native Libyans as well as foreign nationals including Egyptians, Tunisians and Turks. By 1 March, officials from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees had confirmed allegations of discrimination against sub-Saharan Africans who were held in dangerous conditions in the no-man's-land between Tunisia and Libya. By 3 March, an estimated 200,000 refugees had fled Libya to either Tunisia or Egypt. A provisional refugee camp was set up at Ras Ejder with a capacity for 10,000 was overflowing with an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 refugees. Many tens of thousands were still trapped on the Libyan side of the frontier. By 3 March, the situation was described as a logistical nightmare, with the World Health Organization warning of the risk of epidemics.

With a migrant population of about two million, states that border Libya, especially Egypt and Tunisia, have been receiving a flow of migrants and nationals escaping the violence. Migrants workers as well as Libyan nationals have been finding their way to the border cities of Sallum in Egypt and Ras Ajdir in Tunisia creating a humanitarian crisis. According to the International Organization for Migration, as of 7 March 115,399 migrants had arrived in Tunisia (19,184 of them Tunisians, 47,631 Egyptians and the rest from various nationalities), 101,609 in Egypt (of which 65,509 were Egyptian), 2,205 in Niger (1,865 Nigerians) and 5,448 in Algeria.

To continue responding to needs of people staying at the Ras Ejdir crossing point in Tunisia, WFP and Secours Islamique-France are upgrading a kitchen that will provide breakfast for families.Separately, the International Committee of the Red Cross ICRC has advised it is handing over its operations at the Choucha Camp to the Tunisian Red Crescent. Since 24 March, WFP has supplied over 42,500 cooked meals for third-country nationals at the Saloum border. A total of 1,650 cartons of fortified date bars (equivalent of 13.2 metric tons) have also been provided to supplement these meals.

Over 500, mostly ethnic Berber Libyans, had fled their homes in Libya's Western Mountains and took shelter in the Dehiba area of south east Tunisia between 5 and 12 April.

Potential military–humanitarian coordination

Whilst the UN sanctioned military intervention has been implemented on humanitarian grounds, UN agencies seeking to ease the humanitarian crisis repeatedly rejected offers of support from the military to carry out the agencies' humanitarian operations. The conditions under which such support may be accepted are outlined in the Guidelines on the Use of Military and Civil Defence Assets to Support United Nations Humanitarian Activities in Complex Emergencies (MCDA), whereby military support can be used but only temporarily and as a last resort. Yet, there remains the concern that aid agencies' neutrality will be brought into question by accepting military support, putting aid staff at risk of being attacked and causing some parties to prevent the agencies accessing all the areas they need to. Furthermore, the military may not always have the technical skills required to assess the need for aid and to ensure its effective distribution. Despite this, offers continue for the creation of an aid corridor and aid agencies have accepted military logistical support in the past, for instance in the 2010 Pakistan floods response.

Casualties

People in Dublin, Ireland protesting against Gaddafi's use of violence against Libyans

Main article: Casualties of the 2011 Libyan civil war

Independent numbers of dead and injured in the conflict have still not been made available. Estimates have been widely varied. Conservative estimates have put the death toll at 1,000, The International Criminal Court estimated 10,000 killed on 7 March. The numbers of injured were estimated to be around 4,000 by 22 February. On 2 March, the International Federation for Human Rights estimated a death toll as high as 3,000 and the World Health Organization estimated approximately 2,000 killed. At the same time, the opposition claimed that 6,500 people had died. The Libyan League for Human Rights estimated 6,000 killed on 5 March. Later, rebel spokesman Abdul Hafiz Ghoga reported that the death toll reached 8,000.

Domestic responses

Main article: Domestic responses to the 2011 Libyan civil war

Resignation of government officials

In response to the use of force against protesters, a number of senior Libyan public officials either renounced the Gaddafi regime or resigned from their positions. Justice Minister Mustafa Mohamed Abud Al Jeleil and Interior Minister Major General Abdul Fatah Younis both defected to the opposition. Oil Minister Shukri Ghanem and Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa fled Libya, with the latter defecting to the UK. Libyan Prosecutor General Abdul-Rahman al-Abbar resigned his position and joined the opposition.

The staff of a number of diplomatic missions of Libya have either resigned or condemned the action of the Gaddafi regime. The ambassadors to the Arab League, European Union and United Nations have either resigned or stated that they no longer support the government. The ambassadors to Bangladesh, Belgium, People's Republic of China, France, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nigeria, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, and the US also renounced the Gaddafi regime or formally resigned.

Military defections

A number of senior military officials defected to the opposition, including General Abdul Fatah Younis, Major General Suleiman Mahmoud, Brigadier General Musa'ed Ghaidan Al Mansouri, Brigadier General Hassan Ibrahim Al Qarawi and Brigadier General Dawood Issa Al Qafsi. Two Libyan Air Force colonels each flew their Mirage F1 fighter jets to Malta and requested asylum, after being ordered to carry out airstrikes against anti-government protesters in Benghazi. Colonel Nuretin Hurala, the commander of the Benghazi Naval Base also defected along with senior naval officials.

Economic, religious and tribal

The Libyan economy is mainly based on its oil production. The Arabian Gulf Oil Company, the second-largest state-owned oil company in Libya, announced plans to use oil funds to support anti-Gaddafi forces. Islamic leaders and clerics in Libya, notably the Network of Free Ulema – Libya urged all Muslims to rebel against Gaddafi. The Warfalla, Tuareg and Magarha tribes announced their support of the protesters. The Zuwayya tribe, based in eastern Libya, threatened to cut off oil exports from fields in its part of Libya if Libyan security forces continued attacking demonstrators.

Libyan royal family

A young Benghazian carrying (deposed) King Idris' photo. Support of the Senussi dynasty has traditionally been strong in Cyrenaica.

Muhammad as-Senussi, former Crown Prince and son of the late King Idris, sent his condolences "for the heroes who have laid down their lives, killed by the brutal forces of Gaddafi" and called on the international community "to halt all support for the dictator with immediate effect." as-Senussi said that the protesters would be "victorious in the end" and calls for international support to end the violence. On 24 February, as-Senussi gave an interview to Al Jazeera where he called upon the international community to help remove Gaddafi from power and stop the ongoing "massacre". He dismissed talk of a civil war saying "The Libyan people and the tribes have proven they are united". He later stated that international community needs "less talk and more action" to stop the violence. He asked for a no-fly zone over Libya but does not support foreign ground troops. On 20 April, Mohammed spoke in front of the European Parliament calling for more support for Libya. He also states that he will support any form of government that Libya will choose after Gaddafi including a constitutional monarchy.

A rival claimant to the throne, Idris bin Abdullah, announced in an interview with Adnkronos that he was ready to return to Libya and "assume leadership" once change had been initiated. On 21 February, he made an appearance on Piers Morgan Tonight to discuss the uprising. In March, it was reported Idris bin Abdullah had held meetings at the State Department and Congress in Washington with U.S. government officials. It was also reported attempts at contact had been initiated by French and Saudi officials. On 3 March, it was reported that another member of the family, Prince Zouber al-Senussi, had fled Libya with his family and was seeking asylum in Totebo, Sweden.

International reactions

Main article: International reactions to the 2011 Libyan civil war

Official responses

March in support of the Libyan opposition in Japan before the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami

A number of states and supranational bodies condemned Gaddafi's use of military and mercenaries against Libyan civilians. However, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, North Korean leader Kim-Jong-il, Cuban political leader Fidel Castro and Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez all expressed support for Gaddafi. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi initially said he did not want to disturb Gaddafi, but two days later he called the attacks on protesters unacceptable. Although Russia had long expressed reservations and dissent regarding the intervention, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev announced during the 37th G8 summit on 27 May that he believed that Gaddafi "should leave", and offered to mediate a deal to oust the Libyan leader.

The Arab League suspended Libya from taking part in council meetings at an emergency meeting on 22 February and issued a statement condemning the "crimes against the current peaceful popular protests and demonstrations in several Libyan cities".

Libya was suspended from the United Nations Human Rights Council on 1 March 2011, by a unanimous vote of the United Nations General Assembly, citing the Gaddafi government's use of violence against protesters. On 26 February, the United Nations Security Council voted unanimously to impose strict sanctions against Gaddafi's government and refer Gaddafi and other members of his government to the International Criminal Court for investigation into allegations of brutality against civilians. Interpol issued a security alert concerning the "possible movement of dangerous individuals and assets" based on the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1970, listing Gaddafi himself and fifteen members of his clan or his regime. A number of governments, including Britain, Canada, Switzerland, the United States, Germany and Australia, took action to freeze assets of Gaddafi and his associates.

The Gulf Cooperation Council issued a joint statement on 8 March, calling on the United Nations Security Council to impose an air embargo on Libya to protect civilians. The Arab League did the same on 12 March, with only Algeria and Syria voting against the measure.

On 16 May, the International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor asked judges to issue arrest warrants for Colonel Gaddafi, his son Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, and his intelligence chief Abdullah al-Sanoussa. According to the prosecutor, the three had ordered, planned, and participated in illegal attacks against civilians. He stated that under their command, pro-Gaddafi forces had attacked civilians in their homes, shot at demonstrators protesting his 40 years of rule with live ammunition, shelled funeral processions, and deployed snipers to kill people leaving mosques. While compiling a 74-page dossier of evidence that will be presented to judges, as many as 50 top Gaddafi insider officials had provided information, seeking to implicate each other in war crimes.

Evacuations

On February 22, two Luftwaffe C-160s are some of the first foreign military airplanes allowed to land at Tripoli International Airport. Commercial planes from Lufthansa, British Airways, Turkish Airlines, Afriqiyah Airways and Libyan Airlines can be seen in the background.

During the uprising, many states evacuated their citizens. China set up its largest evacuation operation ever with over 30,000 Chinese nationals evacuated, as well as 2,100 citizens from twelve other states. On 25 February 500 passengers, mostly Americans, sailed into Malta after a rough eight-hour journey from Tripoli following a two-day wait for the seas to calm. South Korea evacuated 1,200 residents of Libya, utilizing cars, airplanes and ferries, to nearby jurisdictions, including Malta.

Bulgaria evacuated some of its citizens with planes, along with Romanian and Chinese citizens. The Indian government launched Operation Safe Homecoming and evacuated 15,000 of its nationals through the Indian Navy and Air India. The Turkish government sent three ships to evacuate a reported 25,000 Turkish workers and return them to Istanbul. Ireland sent two Irish Air Corps jets to Libya to evacuate approximately Irish citizens, using Malta as a temporary base. However, an Air Corps Learjet that landed in Tripoli on 23 February was prevented by Libyan authorities from picking up any passengers. The Irish Department of Foreign Affairs assisted over 115 Irish nationals in leaving Libya. Several Russians, twenty-one Tadjiks and some Kazachs were evacuated by Russia authorities.

Many international oil companies decided to withdraw their employees from Libya to ensure their safety, including Gazprom, Royal Dutch Shell, Sinopec, Suncor Energy, Pertamina and BP. Other companies that decided to evacuate their employees included Siemens and Russian Railways.

The evacuations often involved assistance from various military forces. The United Kingdom deployed aircraft and the frigate HMS Cumberland to assist in the evacuations. China's frigate Xuzhou of the People's Liberation Army Navy was ordered to guard the Chinese evacuation efforts. The South Korean Navy destroyer ROKS Choi Young arrived off the coast of Tripoli on 1 March to evacuate South Korean citizens. The Royal Navy destroyer HMS York docked in the port of Benghazi on 2 March, evacuated 43 nationals, and delivered medical supplies and other humanitarian aid donated by the Swedish government. Canada deployed the frigate HMCS Charlottetown to aid in the evacuation of Canadian citizens and to provide humanitarian relief operations in conjunction with an US Navy carrier strike group, led by the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Enterprise.

Two Royal Air Force C-130 Hercules aircraft with British Special Forces onboard evacuated approximately 100 foreign nationals, mainly oil workers, to Malta from the desert south of Benghazi. A subsequent joint evacuation operation between the UK and Germany evacuated 22 Germans and about 100 other Europeans, mostly British oil workers, from the airport at Nafurah to Crete.

On 27 February, the Royal Netherlands Navy frigate HNLMS Tromp sent a helicopter manned by three Marines to evacuate a Dutch civilian and another European from Sirt. After the helicopter landed near Sirt, it was confronted and grounded by a Libyan Army unit, and the three members of the crew were arrested for entering Libyan airspace without clearance. The civilians were released soon after and the crew was released twelve days later, but the helicopter was confiscated. A cruise ship arrived to save the 7,913 Filipinos in Libya from the destruction. They stopped in Greece and then safely made it home to the Philippines.

Three months after the conflict started, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and its partners (UNHCR, Donor In-Kind) have conducted life-saving evacuations for almost 144,000 migrants. Tunisia has been the largest exit route of migrants fleeing from Libya; due to its proximity to Tripoli and other major Libyan cities, third country nationals and Libyans have flocked to the main border points of R’as Ajdir and Dehiba. From Tunisia, IOM and its partners evacuated by air about 103,000 migrants to their countries of origin. Repatriation movements organized by IOM from Egypt reached 35,000 passengers. In Niger, about 2,000 migrants received transportation assistance, by bus or by plane, to return to their country of origin. From Algeria, IOM organized the repatriation of about 1,200 migrants that crossed the Libyan-Algerian border to flee the conflict. Bangladeshi nationals represented the largest nationality of migrants repatriated by IOM, with more than 30,000 repatriated by plane. Chadians faced many difficulties while returning home by themselves as many trucks could not cross directly into Chad due to severe hardship along the main road from Libya to Faya. As such, trucks took detours through Niger, thereby lengthening the journey and creating more obstacles (and costs) for the returnees. In three months, about 68,000 Chadian nationals have returned to Chad. Among them, 26,500 have been repatriated by plane by IOM and its partners. The rest have returned in different entry points by trucks.

Mediation proposals

There have been several peace mediation prospects during the crisis. Early in the conflict, Gaddafi's son reportedly requested that former British Prime Minister Tony Blair mediate the crisis but he bluntly refused.

South Africa proposed an African Union led mediation effort to prevent civil war. Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez also put himself forward as a mediator. Although Gaddafi accepted in principle a proposal by Chávez to negotiate a settlement between the opposition and the Libyan government, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi later said there was no need for any foreign mediation. The proposal has also been under consideration by the Arab League, according to its Secretary-General Amr Moussa.

The Libyan opposition stated any deal would have to involve Gaddafi stepping down. The US and French governments also dismissed any initiative that would allow Gaddafi to remain in power. Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, the 2010 winner of the Al-Gaddafi International Prize for Human Rights, offered to mediate the crisis, and proposed that Gaddafi appoint a President acceptable to all Libyans as means of overcoming the crisis.

Indirect talks allegedly took place between Gaddafi's government and the National Transitional Council. In early March, Gaddafi reportedly proposed that he step down and hand power over the General People's Congress, in exchange for immunity from criminal prosecution, safe exit for him and his family, and a guarantee from the United Nations that he be allowed to keep his money. Gaddafi allegedly sent Libyan UN delegate and former Prime Minister Jadallah Azzuz at-Talhi to negotiate a deal. On March 8, the National Transitional Council announced that if Gaddafi called off the fighting and left Libya with his family within the next 72 hours, the council would not prosecute him.

The African Union's special committee on Libya has been attempting to broker a ceasefire agreement. On 29 May 2011, South African President Jacob Zuma flew to Libya to arrange a cease-fire, and NATO temporarily lifted its no-fly zone to allow his presidential plane to land at the main military airbase next to Tripoli. Zuma met with Gaddafi in the Bab al-Azizia compound, and said that Gaddafi was ready to accept an AU initiative for a complete cease-fire that would stop all ground fighting and NATO airstrikes, and that Gaddafi insisted that "all Libyans be given a chance to talk among themselves". Gaddafi did not make any mention of stepping down, and the offer was rejected by the rebels. However, opposition leaders remained skeptical that mediation would end the conflict in a way that would satisfy their goals, which include seeing Gaddafi removed from power. Fathi Baja, The National Transitional Council's Foreign Minister, said that "we refuse completely, we don't consider it a political initiative, it is only some stuff that Gaddafi wants to announce to stay in power", adding that the rebels would soon launch an offensive. On 31 May, Zuma said that Gaddafi had told him he would not step down or leave Libya, and was "emphathetic" about this position.

Russian Presidential Envoy to Africa Mikhail Margelov itineraried a visit to Tripoli to present a roadmap to resolve the conflict once NATO clears the transportation corridor, assuming a mediatory role requested at the G8 Summit in May. It is rumored that Qaddafi's son, Saif al-Islam Qaddafi, is talking with the rebels to end the war.

Sanctions

On 26 February 2011, the United Nations Security Council unanimously passed United Nations Security Council Resolution 1970, which imposed an arms embargo on Libya, and travel bans and asset freezes on members of the Gaddafi regime. Asset freezes and travel bans were further extended by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973, which also tightened the arms embargo by allowing the forcible seizure and inspection of Libyan ships and planes by international forces, and imposed asset freezes and travel bans on additional Libyan individuals and entities. The European Union and United States imposed additional asset freezes on individuals and entities not sanctioned by the UN, particularly entities in the Libyan oil and gas and financial sectors. Major U.S. energy firms cut off trade with Libya in response to the sanctions. Although major European buyers of Libyan oil continued to trade, trade was significantly reduced due the reluctance of banks to finance trade with Libya.

Following the imposition of sanctions, numerous governments seized tens of billions of dollars in Libyan assets, including the assets of Gaddafi and his sons. Before defecting to the rebels, the governor of the Libyan Central Bank, Farhat Bengdara, arranged for the bulk of external Libyan assets to be frozen and unavailable to Gaddafi's government.

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 (no-fly zone and other measures)

Countries committed to enforcement:

Belgium

Bulgaria

Canada

Denmark

France

Greece

Italy

Jordan

Netherlands

Norway

Qatar

Romania

Spain

Sweden

United Arab Emirates

United Kingdom

United States

Main articles: United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 and 2011 military intervention in Libya

On 28 February, UK Prime Minister David Cameron proposed the idea of a no-fly zone to prevent Gaddafi from airlifting mercenaries and using military aircraft against civilians. A number of states indicated they would support a no-fly zone if it was backed by the UN.

US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates was initially sceptical of this option, warning the US Congress that a no-fly zone would have to begin with an attack on Libya's air defences. Russia and China, both holding UN Security Council veto power, indicated they were opposed to the implementation of a no-fly zone. Romania, India and Turkey also indicated they were opposed to the implementation of a no-fly zone.

On 7 March, a UN diplomat confirmed to Agence France-Presse, on condition of anonymity, that France and the UK were drawing up a resolution for the UN Security Council to authorize a no-fly zone over Libya.

The foreign ministers of the Arab League agreed at their 12 March meeting to ask the UN to impose a no-fly zone over Libya. The rebels concurrently stated that a no-fly zone alone would not be sufficient, because the majority of the bombardments were coming from tanks and rockets, not aircraft. The US changed its position, as Gadaffi forces were quickly approaching Benghazi, and voiced support for the no-fly-zone concept.

On 17 March, the UN Security Council approved UN Security Council Resolution 1973 (2011), authorizing a no-fly zone, amongst other measures, by a vote of ten in favour, zero against, and five abstentions. One who abstain was Germany, the only NATO or European Union member to do so. Germany was also not join the Nato-led air war in Libya. The resolution bans all flights in Libyan airspace in order to protect civilians. A collection of states began enforcing the no-fly zone on 19 March.

On 29 March, in his position as Foreign Minister of Libya, Moussa Koussa wrote to UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, nominating the former foreign minister of Nicaragua's socialist Sandinista government and one-time president of the UN General Assembly Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann as Libya's new ambassador to the UN. The letter stated that Brockmann was nominated, as Ali Abdussalam Treki, also a former General Assembly president who was their first choice, was denied a visa to enter the US under UN SCR 1973.

The NATO Berlin summit of 14–15 April

NATO, Georgian, Russian, Ukrainian, UAE, Swedish and Qatari officials attended a summit in Berlin, but failed for a second day to find new ground-attack aircraft, despite planning to send more fighters to strengthen the no fly zone. NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen asked other member states to do more in Libya, but Italy signalled its reluctance to contribute more airpower. The British Foreign Minister, William Hague, said he did not regard the meeting as a failure, even though it had not prompted any extra member nations to join the French, British and American led mission. The Russian representative warned that NATO had gone beyond the UN mandate to only protect citizens, by attacking ground targets in Libya.

Reactions to the decision to intervene

See also: International reactions to the 2011 military intervention in Libya, Protests against the 2011 military intervention in Libya, and US domestic reactions to the 2011 military intervention in Libya

The International Federation for Human Rights stated that it welcomed the resolution which finally offers protection to civilians in Libya, who are the targets of crimes which can be considered crimes against humanity. Muslim Brotherhood-linked Egyptian scholar Yusuf al-Qaradawi expressed his support for the no-fly zone put in place by the UN over Libya, saying, "The operation in Libya is to protect the civilians from Gaddafi’s tyranny." Qaradawi also slammed Arab League leader and likely presidential candidate Amr Moussa for remarks criticizing the international intervention. Al-Qaeda also stated that they support the uprising against Gaddafi. Egypt reportedly has been shipping arms to Libya to arm the rebels.

Kenneth Roth, executive director of the Human Rights Watch, stated that the Security Council at last lived up to its duty to prevent mass atrocities. He further commented the Arab League's role, stating that "the league had watched silently as Sudan's Omar al-Bashir committed crimes against humanity in Darfur – or, less recently, as Iraq's Saddam Hussein massacred Shia and Kurds, and Syria's Hafez al-Asad destroyed the town of Hama. But the league apparently sensed the winds of change wafting through the Middle East and North Africa, and felt compelled to respond."

According to a French Institute of Public Opinion (IFOP) poll, only 36% of the population supported French participation in any military intervention in Libya in the run-up to the intervention. However, an IFOP poll conducted after the intervention began showed 66% supported the intervention, with no difference of opinion between the left-wing and right-wing. In the US, opposition before the intervention was as high as 74%, according to CNN/Opinion Research Corporation, while after the intervention a CBS News poll indicated 66% of Americans support the air and naval strikes, with 70% of Democrats and Republicans, and 65% of independents approving of missile and airstrikes. However, only 20% expect the no-fly zone to be "very effective" in protecting civilians and rebels from Gaddafi's forces.

China, India, Russia and Turkey condemned the strikes by international forces. Amr Moussa, the head of the Arab League, expressed great concern over civilians, clearly defining his position as supporting the UN Security Council resolution but not a bombing campaign. However, Amr Moussa later clarified that his comments were misinterpreted, and that he does in fact support the air strikes, and reiterated his support for protecting civilians. Turkey specifically singled out French leadership for ignoring the NATO alliance, which was left divided and split over the operation. NATO members Germany and Poland are not participating in the campaign, and Malta did not offer its airports for use by coalition forces.

In Britain the intervention has been broadly supported, though it has also provoked strong opposition from a minority including former MP George Galloway and MPs Jeremy Corbyn and Caroline Lucas. In the US, some politicians have voiced opposition to military action without congressional approval, or have requested clarifications and debate about US goals and how they will be achieved, including Democratic and Republican congressional representatives, Speaker of the House John Boehner, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Buck McKeon, and Democratic House Caucus chair John Larson. Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations, has expressed doubts over the possibility of a better regime emerging if the rebels are victorious. However, others have predicted more fortuitous results from the US-led intervention in Libya, especially regarding its long-term ramifications on standing American foreign policy.

15 June 2011 lawmakers from both parties announced a lawsuit they have launched a day before against President Obama in federal court to "challenge the commitment of the United States to war in Libya absent the required constitutional legal authorithy."

See also

• 2011 Egyptian revolution
• Human rights in Libya
• List of modern conflicts in North Africa

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• Topple the Tyrants
• Tunisian revolution
• Free speech in the media during the 2011 Libyan civil war
• Moussa Ibrahim, Gaddafi spokesman

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Further reading

• Morayef, Heba (2009). Truth and Justice Can't Wait: Human Rights Developments in Libya Amid Institutional Obstacles. New York: Human Rights Watch. ISBN 9781564325631.
• St. John, Ronald Bruce (2011). Libya: Continuity and Change. New York: Routledge. ISBN 9780415779777.

External links

• "Photos of Air Strikes on Libya". The Atlantic.
• "Libya Uprising". Al Jazeera.
• "Live Blog". Al Jazeera.
• "Libya Revolt". BBC News.
• "Libya". Der Spiegel.
• News coverage at libyafeb17.com.
• Donadio, Rachel. "Libya –The Protests (2011)". The New York Times.
• "Libya". Reuters.
• Voice of Free LIbya (newsblog)
• Quinn, Ben; Haynes, Jonathan (21 February 2011). "Libya in Crisis". The Guardian. UK.