Bani Walid (Anglicized: ; ar, بني وليد, Banī Walīd,

Libyan Demographics of Libya is the demography of Libya, specifically covering population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, and religious affiliations, as well as other aspects of the Libyan population. The ...

pronunciation: ) is a city in

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

located in the

Misrata District Misrata ( ar, مصراته , Libyan Arabic: ''Məṣrātah''), also spelt ''Misurata'' or ''Misratah'', is a sha'biyah (district) in northwestern Libya. Its capital is the city of Misrata. In 2007 the district was enlarged to include what had be ...

. Prior to 2007, it was the capital of Sof-Aljeen District. Bani Walid has an

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...

. Under the

Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Muammar Gaddafi became the ''de facto'' leader of Libya on 1 September 1969 after leading a group of young Libyan Army officers against King Idris I in a bloodless coup d'état. After the king had fled the country, the Revolutionary Co ...

, it was divided into two Basic People's Congresses: Dahra – Bani Walid (), and Zaytouna – Bani Walid (). It is the home to the

Warfalla The Warfalla ( ar, ورفلة) is a tribe that resides in the west of Libya, in the town of Bani Walid, their stronghold. Usually estimated to be Libya’s largest tribe with up to one million of the total population of about 6 million people, the ...

tribe, the only city in which only one tribe resides. A campus of Bani Walid University is located in Bani Walid.

Libyan civil war

Bani Walid toujours dans limpasse (6130923175)

In the

2011 Libyan Civil War The First Libyan Civil War was an armed conflict in 2011 in the North African country of Libya that was fought between forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and rebel groups that were seeking to oust Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, his government. It ...

, after the

anti-Gaddafi forces The anti-Gaddafi forces were Libyan groups that opposed and militarily defeated the government of Muammar Gaddafi, killing him in the process. These opposition forces included organized and armed militia groups, participants in the Libyan Civil ...

captured Tripoli in August and Sabha in September, Bani Walid, along with

Sirte Sirte (; ar, سِرْت, ), also spelled Sirt, Surt, Sert or Syrte, is a city in Libya. It is located south of the Gulf of Sirte, between Tripoli and Benghazi. It is famously known for its battles, ethnic groups, and loyalty to Muammar ...

, was one of two final strongholds held by forces loyal to the ousted

government of Muammar Gaddafi Muammar Gaddafi became the ''de facto'' leader of Libya on 1 September 1969 after leading a group of young Libyan Army officers against King Idris I in a bloodless coup d'état. After the king had fled the country, the Revolutionary Comma ...

. There were clashes between anti-Gaddafi forces surrounding the city and Gaddafi loyalists defending it throughout September and early October; the city was finally taken on 17 October. Finnish company Perusyhtymä (today YIT) constructed in the 1980s a factory in the city used for the assembly of rifles and possibly other weapons.

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...

reported that it had hit two "command hubs" in the city and one ammunition dump. It is possible that the latter had originally been built by Finns. 200 Finnish engineers and other experts worked in Bani Walid. Some had their families in the area. The "dirty jobs" were done by around 2,000 cheap labourers from the Philippines. In Finland, the media found out the construction of the weapon factory in 1994 and 2011. In the 1980s, Libya was the second-largest country of export for the Finnish construction industry right after the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

. In the early 1980s Finns had about 20 major construction projects in Libya. In addition to the weapon factory, other Finnish constructions include streets in Tripoli and the entire oil city of

Ras Lanuf Ras Lanuf ( ( ar, راس لانوف , also: ''Ra’s al-Unūf'' )) is a Mediterranean town in northern Libya, on the Gulf of Sidra. The town is also home to the Ra's Lanuf Refinery, completed in 1984, with a crude oil refining capacity of . The o ...

. A large number of Libyan architects have been trained with Finnish help. Construction export became more difficult after the UN set up a trade embargo in 1992. As late as 2008, a shopping complex designed by Finns was being built.

Post-civil war violence

On 23 January 2012, around 100–150 local fighters attacked the main NTC army base in Bani Walid, killing eight NTC fighters and wounding at least 20 others. On 25 January 2012, Libya's defense Minister recognised the newly formed local tribal council, which overthrew the local NTC council, as the new authority of Bani Walid. In October 2012, a successful and controversial armed campaign to recapture the city was launched.

Transportation

The city is served by the

Bani Walid Airport Bani Walid Airport is an airport serving the city of Bani Walid in Libya. The airport is at the western edge of the city. The Beni Walid VOR-DME (ident: WLD) is northeast of the airport. The Beni Walid Non-directional beacon (ident: WLD) is ea ...

, located west of the city centre.

Educational

There is a public university named Bani Walid university a college: * Bani Walid University * College of Electronic Technology Bani Walid

References

External links