The 2011 Sabha clashes were a series of clashes between forces loyal to

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

n leader

Muammar Gaddafi Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi (20 October 2011) was a Libyan military officer, revolutionary, politician and political theorist who ruled Libya from 1969 until Killing of Muammar Gaddafi, his assassination by Libyan Anti-Gaddafi ...

and rebel

anti-Gaddafi forces The anti-Gaddafi forces, also known as the Libyan opposition or Libyan rebels, were Libyan groups that opposed and militarily defeated the government of Muammar Gaddafi during the First Libyan Civil War in 2011, killing him in the process. The A ...

for control of the desert oasis city of Sabha The clashes were part of the Libyan Civil War and took place during June 2011.

Background

Sabha is a city of around 210,000 people located by an oasis in the

Libyan Desert The Libyan Desert (not to be confused with the Libyan Sahara) is a geographical region filling the northeastern Sahara Desert, from eastern Libya to the Western Desert (Egypt), Western Desert of Egypt and far northwestern Sudan. On medieval m ...

and is home to an important military base. Much of its population are migrants from

Chad Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North Africa, North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to Chad–Libya border, the north, Sudan to Chad–Sudan border, the east, the Central Afric ...

Niger Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...

, and

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

. These migrants had been brought to Libya by Gaddafi in the 1980s and given employment and stipends by the regime to ensure their support. In addition, the city is home to a large number of members of the

Qadhadhfa The Qadhadhfa (also ''al-Qaddafa'', ''Gaddadfa'', ''Qaddadfa'', ''Gaddafa''; ) is one of the Arabs, Arab Sharif, Ashraf tribes in Libya, living in the Sirte District in present-day northwestern Libya. They are traditionally counted amongst the c ...

tribe, to which Gaddafi belongs. As a result, the city was regarded as a stronghold of pro-Gaddafi sentiment as the anti-regime protests that began across Libya in February 2011 turned into civil war. As the conflict progressed, however, many of the migrants went north to fight against the rebels, draining Gaddafi's major base of support in the city. Those who remained behind were mostly armed young locals and members of the Awlad Suleiman tribe. The Awlad Suleiman bear strong resentment against the regime. Shortly after Gaddafi seized power, members of the tribe were accused of plotting to overthrow him. Many tribesmen were executed and imprisoned as a result.

June clashes

After remaining relatively quiet for much of the conflict, anti-government protests broke out in the city in early June. On 8 June, government troops fired into the air to disperse a crowd of protesters, igniting a violent clash between the groups. Anti-Gaddafi Awlad Suleiman tribesmen "liberated several streets" in the city by 11 June, according to the rebel

National Transitional Council The National Transitional Council (NTC) was a transitional government established in the 2011 Libyan civil war. After rebel forces overthrew the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya of Muammar Gaddafi in August 2011, the NTC governed Libya for a further ...

. Rebels set up checkpoints in the main residential district of Souk al-Namla. Reports indicated that these rebels were armed, partially by weapons from rebels in the north. By 12 June, the city's residents stated that they feared pro-Gaddafi forces and mercenaries from the north were readying to return to Sabha to subdue the opposition elements.

July pro-Gaddafi rally

On 8 July, Gaddafi spoke to a crowd of 50,000 people at a pro-Gaddafi rally. During his speech, he threatened to attack Europe.

August/September

On 23 August, more clashes broke out in Sabha. Col Bani called Sabha "the last stronghold for (Gaddafi)." Sabha came under anti-Gaddafi control in late September.

References

Battles of the Libyan civil war (2011) Conflicts in 2011 June 2011 in Africa 2011 clashes Battles in 2011 {{DEFAULTSORT:Sabha_clashes, 2011