Battle of Wazzin

Battle of Wazzin
Part of Battles of the Nafusa Mountains - 2011 Libyan civil war
Date 21 April 2011 (First Phase) 24 April 2011 - 28 April 2011 (Second Phase) 28 April 2011 - ongoing (Third Phase) Location Wazzin, Libya, and Dehiba, Tunisia Result Ongoing Rebel forces capture Wazzin on 21 April Loyalist forces retake the border crossing on 28 April Tenuous Rebel hold on Wazzin by May 4, fighting ongoing after Libyan Army clashes with Tunisian Army
Belligerents
Anti-Gaddafi forces Free Libyan Army	Tunisia Tunisian Army	Gaddafi Loyalists Libyan Army Paramilitary forces
Casualties and losses
Unknown At least 1 killed in the third phase	1 civilian wounded	14 killed, 15 captured in first phase 8 killed in second phase 3 killed in third phase

The Battle of Wazzin is a conflict during the 2011 Libyan civil war for the Libyan-Tunisian border town of Wazzin. Rebel forces made an initial victory, but it was short lived as Gaddafi's men re-occupied the town, only to lose it again to the rebels. Control of the town is still contested.

The battle has spilled over into Tunisian territory on several occasions, prompting clashes with the Tunisian military, which has not explicitly taken a side in the battle.

Background

In the early days of the war, the towns in the Nafusa Mountains quickly joined the uprising against Gaddafi, but soon came under heavy attack by forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi. Wazzin was initially taken by rebels in the early days of the war, but soon fell under the control of loyalists who hoped to strangle supply lines into the rebel-held mountain towns. The rebels intended to relieve the military and humanitarian pressure growing in their besieged towns by retaking the crossing.

Battle

On 21 April, rebel forces assaulted Wazzin but were met with fierce resistance by loyalist soldiers. Their advances were initially slow but eventually they overwhelmed Gaddafi's men, taking the town of Wazzin before swiftly capturing the crossing itself, causing Gaddafi's men to be trapped in between the Tunisian border and the advancing rebels. In the end; 105 loyalist soldiers retreated into Tunisia where they surrendered to Tunisian officials.

All of Gaddafi's men have since returned to Libya without charge, however 13 men captured by the rebels remain in their hands.

Since the border post has been in rebel hands, they have began bringing supplies from Tunisia into the besieged towns of the Nafusa Mountains.

On the 24 April, loyalist forces began shelling the border post in an attempt to recapture it; no casualties have yet been reported.

On 28 April, loyalist forces re-captured the Wazzin border crossing with Tunisia after a swift advance in which they pushed the rebels back over the border into Tunisia where the fighting continued on the edge of the Tunisian border town of Dehiba. State TV stated that several rebels were killed and others captured in the attack on the border post. Later during the day, the rebels attempted a counter-attack. Initially, they claimed to had re-taken the post. However, Reuters denied it later by confirming that the loyalists were still in full control. During the confusion when it was thought that the rebels had won scores of civilian vehicles attempted to re-enter Libya from Tunisia. But, they quickly turned back when they found Gaddafi's forces were still at the border crossing. Heavy fighting continued into the night, with rebels apparently massing for a renewed attack against the better-armed loyalists and during the evening the rebels once again claimed to had re-taken the crossing after they received reinforcements from Zintan. Still, this claim was also later found to be untrue.

The next morning, loyalist troops advanced from the crossing post of Wazzin in pursuit of the rebels, who had retreated onto Tunisian soil after a night of fighting, over the border and engaged them in the center of the town of Dehiba. Soon after that clashes between Gaddafi and Tunisian troops were reported. The Tunisian military soon seized loyalist troops and led them back over the border. At the same time, the rebels claimed for a third time to had re-taken the border post. However, Al Jazeera confirmed that the Gaddafi green flag of Libya was still flying over the border post thus proving that government troops were still in control. Control of the post shifted back and forth in the following days, with the rebels holding the post according to most recent reports.

Libyan Army enters Tunisia

Following the first border violation, Tunsian authorities were relatively quiet, believing the event to be a one off. However, after loyalists shelled Tunisian soil (it is unclear if this was accidental or not), a warning was issued, but once fully fledged fighting began across the border, Tunisian officials stated that they were outraged and wanted both rebels and loyalists to put in place measures to stop similar incidents in the future.

The Tunisian government took steps to prevent further civilian casualties on their side by evacuating all areas they felt were at risk from the Libyans.

By April 29, the situation on the border with Tunisia began deteriorating rapidly. Rebel forces were frequently using the border region as a way to evade capture by Gadaffi forces, as well as a principal resupply route. In response, the loyalist forces launched an artillery barrage on the Tunisian town of Dehiba, and advanced across the border. Elements of the Tunisian Army and border police, who had only recently returned to their posts following the border violation on April 28 responded with deadly force to the incursion. By mid-afternoon, press reports came in stating that the Tunisian military was engaged in combat with the Libyan Army in central Dehiba. Later in the day fights between pro-Gaddafi forces and Tunisian army had ceased. The Tunisian military had captured and disarmed pro-Gaddafi solders and then sent them back to Libya.

As of May 1, Gaddafi's men have not ceased shelling Tunisian territory, although no further casualties have been reported.

On 7 May, renewed fighting in Wazzin lead to more shells falling in Tunisian territory, sparking mass evacuations in the border town of Dehiba. Roughly 100 shells fell in Tunisian territory causing one house to be damaged yet nobody was killed. The Tunsian authorities stated that the situation was 'very dangerous' and that they would do everything they had to in order to protect their country.