Fourth Battle of Brega: Difference between revisions
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Revision as of 21:24, 6 August 2011
![]() | It has been suggested that this article be merged into Battle of Brega–Ajdabiya road. (Discuss) Proposed since August 2011. |
Fourth Battle of Brega | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of 2011 Libyan civil war | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
| |||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Gen. Abdul Fatah Younis † Col. Hamid Hassy[4] | Al-Mu'tasim-Billah al-Gaddafi[5] | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
5,000[6] | 3,000[7]-7,000[6] | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
73 killed, 627 wounded,[8][9] several tanks disabled and several dozen technicals damaged[10] |
30 killed,[11] 10-20 captured[12] 37 technicals, 3 tanks, 11 IFVs, 3 MRLs, 2 rocket launchers destroyed in air-strikes (NATO claim) |
The Fourth Battle of Brega was a battle during the 2011 Libyan civil war between forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi and forces of the Libyan opposition for control of the strategic town of Brega and its oil port.
Background
After about three months of stalemate on Libya's "eastern front", interupted only by the occasional clash between infantry units and some artillery duels, opposition military commanders launched an offensive to reclaim control of the town.
The Battle
14 July
The battle commenced on the 14 July, in the aftermath of the long-stalemated Battle of Brega-Ajdabiya road. The rebels were armed with refurbished and repaired T-72 and T-55 tanks and armoured personnel carriers as well as with armed technical trucks. Three rebels were killed and 73 were wounded.[13] Opposition forces advanced via the southern desert highway, the main central coastal road, and from the sea to the north of the town.[14] At one point, rebels claimed that loyalist forces were in retreat to an area called Bishr (Bashir), 20 km to the west of Brega.[15] However, Libyan government's spokesman Mussa Ibrahim stated several hours later that the military repulsed the attack by opposition forces, who had air and naval support from NATO, stating that NATO was breaking the UN resolution once again.[16][17]
15 July
By the next day, the rebels themselves confirmed that their attack had failed and that they had fallen back to their previous positions[18] where battles with loyalist forces continued on three fronts.[19] Late on the second day of the fighting, rebel forces on a recon mission breached Brega, but pulled back to prepare for a fresh offensive the next day. In addition to the large number of casualties suffered by the rebels, pro-Gaddafi forces also sustained a number of dead and wounded during the fighting. At this point, the rebels’ forward position closest to Brega was four kilometers to the north of the town. A second rebel forces attacking from due east of Brega faced stiffer resistance and was about 10-20 kilometres (six to 12 miles) from the town. To the south of the town, where the rebels had made initial gains but suffered large numbers of casualties, Gaddafi forces had pushed back harder.[20]
16 July
During the morning before dawn on the third day of fighting, according to some reports, rebel forces managed to enter Brega's outskirts but encountered heavy government shelling and multiple land mines. The rebels also stated that they captured four loyalist soldiers since the start of the battle.[21] As for the rebels, the number of casualties on their side during the day was 12 dead and 178 wounded due to the shelling and mines.[22] During 16 July, it was once again reported that the loyalist were withdrawing to Bishr. However, no independent media followed up on the story[23] and later rebel command stated opposition forces were still on the town's outskirts, moving slowly because of hundreds of land mines.[24] They were also slowed due to defensive trenches around the city that had been filled with flammable chemicals by retreating loyalist troops. Government forces had mostly pulled back into the town from its outskirts and left the booby-trapped trenches behind.[25] Most opposition troops were reportedly still 20 kilometers east of Brega by the end of the third day.[26]
17 July
On 17 July, three rebels were killed and 96[27]-127 wounded in street-to-street fighting in residential areas of Brega.[28] A rebel spokesman claimed that opposition forces had captured the north-eastern part of the town and were engaging loyalist troops in the south-western section.[29]
18 July
On 18 July, rebels announced that the main body of loyalist forces had retreated to Ras Lanuf while the main group of rebel forces was already behind Brega and was heading towards Bishr (al-Bashir) and Ugayla (Uqayla, al-Ageila). The rest of the rebel forces were still cleaning up mines and engaging pockets of resistance in Brega where an estimated 150-200 loyalist soldiers were still holed up in the industrial area.[30] However, in the evening, the government stated they were still in control of Brega, vowing to hold it after claiming to have killed 520 rebels,[31] and a rebel commander and fighters returning from the front said that opposition forces did manage to surround the town and enter the residential eastern part of the city, but the loyalists were still holding the western industrial area. Also, rebel forces coming in from the east were significantly slowed by the burning trenches which they were not able to extinguish because of a constant flow of oil into them from an oil pipeline directly linked to the trench system.[32][33] The rebels were also receiving rocket fire from the direction of Bashir.[34]
19 July
On 19 July, the rebels once again declared they were in full control of the town, except a few parts of the city (including the downtown section) to which they couldn't get to because of a high concentration of mines, but this was in contrast to the situation on the ground where there was still ongoing fighting. NATO itself stated it was not sure who controlled the town and described the situation as fluid.[35] Its aircraft were having problems to follow the movements of loyalist forces in Brega because of the black smoke coming from burning oil trenches.[36] 13 rebels were killed and 45 others wounded near Brega by loyalist artillery fire after government troops approached opposition positions in trucks carrying rebel flags. By the end of the day, rebel officers stated that opposition forces had captured only a third of the town and were still fighting in the residential area of Brega.[37][38] A rebel commander stated that opposition forces would need another 10 days before they could take complete control of Brega.[39] At the same time, Al Jazeera reported that opposition forces had still not entered Brega, despite managing to surround it, and were mainly positioned 10 kilometers east of the town, hampered by mines.[40]
20 July
On 20 July, there were no reports of major fighting, but the rebel casualties from the previous day rose to 27 dead and 83-121 wounded, putting the total of rebels killed since the beginning of the battle at over 50.[41][42]
21 July
On 21 July, it was reported that loyalist forces had booby-trapped the vital petroleum installations in Brega so that they can be destroyed if government troops lose the town. The rebels characterized the town as a "big minefield". It was also reported that the rebels had pulled back from the city and were partially encircling it[43] with only the western approach into Brega still under loyalist control.[44]
Aftermath
On 24 July, the rebels stated that the mine problem had sapped momentum from the campaign to take Brega and that they needed several more days to clear the estimated 45,000 mines from the area.[12][45]
On 28 July, the rebel army chief Abdul Fatah Younis, who was directly leading the Brega front, was put under arrest by the NTC and was being held at an undisclosed garrison in Benghazi. He was arrested under suspicion that he still had continuing contact with the loyalist government in Tripoli. Some of his soldiers returned from the front to ask for his release.[46] The NTC later reported that he was killed, following his release from custody in Benghazi, by Gaddafi supporters.[47] He had been released after he was summoned for questioning about military operations he had conducted, but never made it to the meeting.[48] The Libyan government gave another version of the event, saying that Younis had been killed by the rebels because they thought he was a double agent.[49]
On 1 August, rebel fighters claimed that they had been able, after two weeks of slow advance, to push through minefields to the edge of the suburbs of Brega and were within the sight of the city, some 5 to 7 kilometers away.[50][51]
On 2 August, opposition forces claimed that a small unit of 45 rebel fighters managed to enter the eastern residential district of Brega from which they, after a four-hours long battle, retreated.[52]
On 5 August, the rebels claimed to have captured a hill overlooking part of the town. [53]
On 6 August, once again the rebels claimed that they were preparing a new push toward Brega, but they still had not entered the town like the previous times. [54]
NATO Strikes
According to NATO's daily Operational Media Updates, the NATO strikes, during the battle, hit:
14th July-to-21st July NATO Strikes | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date | Technicals | Tanks | Armored vehicles | Rocket launchers | Buildings | |
14 July[55] | 1 Armed Vehicle | 1 Tank | 1 Armoured Fighting Vehicle | 1 Multiple Rocket Launcher | 1 Command and Control Node | |
15 July[56] | 7 Armed Vehicles | 1 Tank | 5 Armoured Fighting Vehicles | 1 Multiple Rocket Launcher | ||
16 July[57] | 5 Armed Vehicles | 1 Tank | 1 Multiple Rocket Launcher, 1 Rocket Launcher | |||
17 July[58] | 9 Armed Vehicles | 2 Armoured Fighting Vehicles | 1 Command and Control Node | |||
18 July[59] | 8 Armed Vehicles | 2 Armoured Fighting Vehicles | ||||
19 July[60] | 5 Armed Vehicles | 1 Armoured Fighting Vehicles | ||||
20 July[61] | 2 Armed Vehicles | 1 Rocket Launcher | ||||
21 July[62] | 1 Military Storage Facility | |||||
Total | 37 | 3 | 11 | 5 | 3 |
According to NATO's daily Operational Media Updates, the NATO strikes, after the battle, hit:
22nd July-to-27th July NATO Strikes | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date | Technicals | Tanks | Armored vehicles | Rocket launchers | Buildings | |
22 July[63] | 4 Armed Vehicles | 1 Military Storage Facility | ||||
23 July[64] | 1 Armoured Fighting Vehicles | 1 Rocket Launcher | 1 Military Storage Facility, 1 Command and Control Node | |||
24 July[65] | 1 Military Storage Facility | |||||
25 July[66] | 11 Light Military Vehicles | 2 Tanks | 5 Armoured Vehicles | 1 Military Facility | ||
26 July[67] | 5 Military Vehicles | 1 Tank | 1 Military Facility | |||
27 July[68] | 3 Armoured Vehicles | 1 Multiple Rocket Launcher | 2 Military Facilities | |||
5 Aug[69] | 19 Armed Vehicles, 2 Military Supply Vehicles, 5 Military Trucks | 2 Tanks | 1 Armoured Fighting Vehicle | 1 Multiple Rocket Launcher | 2 Military Facility, 6 Military Buildings | |
Total | 46 | 5 | 10 | 3 | 16 |
References
- ^ "UN clears way for Libyan no-fly zone". 18 Mar 2011.
- ^ "Nato takes control of enforcing Libya no-fly zone". 25 March 2011. Retrieved 26 March 2011.
- ^ Mines, forces slow advancing Libyan rebels
- ^ "Rebel-held Libyan city pounded". April 16.
{{cite web}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help) - ^ Libyan rebels claim kill 57 Gaddafi soldiers: report
- ^ a b Libya rebels blame war planning for front stalemate
- ^ Libya rebels killed trying to retake Brega
- ^ AJE:Libyan opposition claims major gains
- ^ Libyan Rebels: Qaddafi Has Boobytrapped Oil Fields
- ^ Libyan forces, insurgents locked in battle for Port Brega
- ^ Libyan government vows to hold oil city against rebels
- ^ a b Libyan rebels in Brega shift focus to demining
- ^ Libya rebels begin advance on Brega
- ^ Gadhafi government holds talks with U.S. officials
- ^ Al Jazeera Live Blog
- ^ Libyan Forces Attack Strategic Oil City
- ^ Libyan spokesman: 'We will die for oil'
- ^ Libyan rebels fall back after failed advance
- ^ Libya rebels lose three men in Brega assault
- ^ Libya rebels breach Brega: spokesman
- ^ Medic: 10 Libya rebels killed in push for oil town
- ^ Libya rebels continue offensive, Kadhafi defiant
- ^ Libyan rebels enter Brega after heavy fighting
- ^ Ten rebels killed in push for Brega
- ^ Libya rebel advance slowed by 'chemical' trenches
- ^ Heavy casualties reported in Libya fighting
- ^ Battles rage on in Libya
- ^ Over 120 rebels hurt in battle for east Libya town
- ^ Libyan rebels 'fighting Gaddafi forces in Brega
- ^ Libya rebels say Gaddafi forces retreat in east
- ^ Gadhafi government holds talks with U.S. officials
- ^ Libyan government vows to hold oil city against rebels
- ^ In Libya, rebel wounded tell the story behind fight for key city
- ^ Libyan rebels claim victory in battle for Brega
- ^ Libyan Rebels Won’t Sign Oil Deals Until Elected Government
- ^ Libyan forces, insurgents locked in battle for Port Brega
- ^ Libyan Troops Kill 8 Rebels Near Eastern Oil Town
- ^ 7 rebels dead, dozens wounded in Libyan government shelling
- ^ Battle For Brega Lingers Amid Push For Diplomacy In Libya
- ^ Libyan rebels pushed back from Brega
- ^ Dozens of Libyan rebels killed in battle for Brega
- ^ For Libyan rebels, a funeral is no somber event
- ^ Libyan Rebels: Qaddafi Has Boobytrapped Oil Fields
- ^ Libya: Rebel chief dismisses death reports
- ^ Libyan rebels say resistance “negligible” at Brega
- ^ Libya opposition arrests senior leader
- ^ Abdel Fattah Younes dead
- ^ Libyan rebel commander Abdel Fattah Younes killed
- ^ Libyan Rebel Military Leader Is Killed
- ^ Rebels clash with Gaddafi loyalists in rebel-held east
- ^ Al Jazeera Live Blog
- ^ Libya rebels say forces enter Kadhafi-held Zliten
- ^ [1]
- ^ http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFLDE77504220110806?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0
- ^ http://www.nato.int/nato_static/assets/pdf/pdf_2011_07/20110715_110715-oup-update.pdf
- ^ http://www.nato.int/nato_static/assets/pdf/pdf_2011_07/20110716_110716-oup-update.pdf
- ^ http://www.nato.int/nato_static/assets/pdf/pdf_2011_07/20110717_110717-oup-update.pdf
- ^ http://www.nato.int/nato_static/assets/pdf/pdf_2011_07/20110718_110718-oup-update.pdf
- ^ http://www.nato.int/nato_static/assets/pdf/pdf_2011_07/20110719_110719-oup-update.pdf
- ^ http://www.nato.int/nato_static/assets/pdf/pdf_2011_07/20110720_110720-oup-update.pdf
- ^ http://www.nato.int/nato_static/assets/pdf/pdf_2011_07/20110721_110721-oup-update.pdf
- ^ http://www.nato.int/nato_static/assets/pdf/pdf_2011_07/20110722_110722-oup-update.pdf
- ^ http://www.nato.int/nato_static/assets/pdf/pdf_2011_07/20110723_110723-oup-update.pdf
- ^ http://www.nato.int/nato_static/assets/pdf/pdf_2011_07/20110724_110724-oup-update.pdf
- ^ http://www.nato.int/nato_static/assets/pdf/pdf_2011_07/20110725_110725-oup-update.pdf
- ^ http://www.nato.int/nato_static/assets/pdf/pdf_2011_07/20110726_110726-oup-update.pdf
- ^ http://www.nato.int/nato_static/assets/pdf/pdf_2011_07/20110727_110727-oup-update.pdf
- ^ http://www.nato.int/nato_static/assets/pdf/pdf_2011_07/20110728_110728-oup-update.pdf
- ^ http://www.nato.int/nato_static/assets/pdf/pdf_2011_08/20110806_110806-oup-update.pdf